


The Portrait From the Attic

by Kaltheinya



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU/Present times?, Appearance of Iruka at the end, Dubious Consent, Flashbacks, Haunting, Horror, M/M, Other, Sai/Naruto?, Sai/Original Characters, Supernatural Elements, can you guess the series the characters are in at the end?, one sided Neji/Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-14 00:02:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaltheinya/pseuds/Kaltheinya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto and Sasuke, married for five years, move into an old mansion in an attempt for a new lease on life.  While Sasuke works, Naruto is faced with the task of rebuilding on his own.  But there's something about the place that doesn't sit well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another horror story written. Someone once said they were inspired to write a song and draw a picture for it. Sadly... never saw or heard from that person again...  
> If it's your first time reading, enjoy. If you've come across my work before... enjoy again! Or duck for cover only to peer out from underneath. Just don't read in the dark again... or read in the dark for that extra chill. Lol.  
> Oh... Naruto's characters are obviously not mine.

**Chapter 1**

Naruto Uzumaki was once known as a very happy individual. His presence always brought joy. And that personality seemed to intensify when he and Sasuke Uchiha became a couple during their college years.

But that was over five years ago. In that brief amount of time, things became very different. And the past three years were the roughest, as unhappiness in their relationship increased with the ill luck that hit them regarding work. 

After graduating college, it had been clear that Sasuke was much more successful in business, and thus his ego had him encouraging Naruto to maintain the house like a typical housewife. 

At first it posed no problems since Sasuke seemed to love to pamper Naruto, showering him with gifts and weekend getaways. The spoiling was accepted by Naruto, although truthfully he would have preferred to work. Then one day Sasuke lost his job due to a scandal at the company he worked at and things downgraded fast. He became cold towards Naruto as he sought out other jobs, but none were bringing him as much money as the previous one. Naruto tried to gain employment too, understanding that his significant other would need help with costs. But rather than being grateful, Sasuke became even more bitter. He accused Naruto of rubbing his failure in his face by seeking out his own means to support himself.

In between jobs, Sasuke would come back late at night from job hunting, reeking like cigarettes and alcohol; and every so often, stale perfume. Naruto hated those nights the most, but his hope that the perfumes were just from waitresses kept him from leaving Sasuke behind. Although that statement wasn't entirely accurate either. Naruto had tried to leave once, but Sasuke caught him at the door with the luggage by his feet. Sasuke had lost his composure and reacted violently at first, throwing everything inside the suitcase out of the house, calling Naruto horrid names. He accused Naruto of being like his family, abandoning him at his time of need when he was unable to provide anything. That Naruto only used him for his money. That Naruto was the reason he no longer talked to his parents.

And when Naruto began to slowly pick his things up off the grass and place them back in his suitcase, Sasuke had thrown himself on Naruto, sobbing and apologizing for being so unworthy. Begging for Naruto not to leave him too, that he would die without his blond.

Naruto, of course, agreed to stay. And despite the nightly absences, and the almost nonexistent romantic times with each other, Naruto never tried to leave again.

Things continued to get worse. With the unstable jobs that Sasuke kept gaining and losing, they were soon unable to keep their condo and were forced to sell.

Sasuke's drinking got worse, and a few times Naruto had to go bring him back to whatever little dingy apartment they could afford. Many times, Naruto found him in the arms of flirtatious women, laughing and kissing them and sharing drinks. He would scoff and try to fight off Naruto, but once they were in the cab, Sasuke would accost him, telling him over and over again that he loved him. Many nights, Naruto threw the money owed to the cab driver, too embarrassed to face him, or her, as Sasuke would continue to grope him.

Of course Sasuke would remember nothing when he woke the following morning, instead being cold and callous all over again. In all honesty, Naruto was surprised that Sasuke willingly lay next to him on the weeks in which he had a job and didn't go drinking.

Then something happened that made Naruto hope it was a sign of good things to come, despite the tragedy of it. One of Sasuke's uncles, Orochimaru, had passed away. And for whatever reason, had left in his will that his mansion would go to Sasuke and his life partner, Naruto. The Uchiha family did try to fight it, but Orochimaru had everything mapped out, and no lawyer was able to find a loop hole to take the mansion away from them.

It did seem a bit too easy, until Naruto and Sasuke got to the mansion. It was old and looked like it had been abandoned for years. The only rooms that were in good condition were the kitchen and the master bedroom, where Orochimaru himself had died in his sleep.

Naruto refused to sleep in that room, and that was when he and Sasuke began sleeping in separate quarters. Sasuke refused to sleep in anything not livable to his standards, especially after dealing with shit hole apartments the past year and a half. Instead he told Naruto to make the mansion worthy again while he sought jobs.

So Naruto was left alone to deal with the damn creepy mansion by himself, spending time cleaning away cobwebs one room at a time, and praying to any god that would listen to him to help Sasuke find a job. He hated being there by himself, as the rooms never seemed to warm up, no matter how many fires he had going. And of course Sasuke would laugh of his talks about how he constantly felt a chill and then grow annoyed when Naruto would decline sharing Orochimaru's room with him again and again. To be honest, Naruto hated the mansion.

It was on the second week that they were graced with another bit of luck. 

Naruto was in the attic, going through all of the covered furniture and personal belongings that had been acquired over the years. He had stumbled across an old chest and it had caught his attention because of the name: Kushina Utamaki. His mother's name had also been Kushina, and the last name was so similar to his that for a moment he had thought he had run into his mother's stuff. He was going to try and prop it open when he saw that there was an item covered behind it. He could see the corner of a gold painted wooden frame peeking out from underneath a heavy sheet, and right away he knew it had to be a mural. Naruto left the chest and moved towards the dusty blanket and slowly pulled it off. He gasped in amazement as he saw that it was a portrait. It held a couple, and the painting seemed almost like a photograph. There was a gentleman with a serious look on his face, eyes as black as coal, hair so black and shiny, but skin so pale, like a vampire. He wore a ruffled dress shirt that came all the way to his neck, definitely Victorian style. A dark navy coat and leggings covered the rest of his body. One hand was rested on a thick cane, fingers dressed with thick rings and large stones. His other hand was around the waist of a blond woman, her hair so bright against the dark coat of the man. She wasn't facing out completely like the man, as she was actually turned towards him, arms around his waist. Her skin was darker, almost tanned, and her blue eyes peeked out almost shyly. A small smile decorated her face, and the artist even picked out a faint blush on her cheeks. Her dress was a blue that matched her eyes perfectly, and the jewelry she wore was accented in orange colored gems. 

The background itself was dark, in which the gentleman could almost get lost in if it weren't for his pale skin and the bright woman next to him. Naruto reached out and touched the painting. He could not get over the fact of how realistic it looked. He almost expected the people to leap from the wood it was painted on. He found himself lost in their eyes, seeing how joyful the female looked, but how empty and cold the man looked. The man almost reminded him of Sasuke if Naruto wanted to be honest with himself.

Naruto eventually dragged the painting downstairs and aimed to set it up above the fireplace in the hallway that he had cleaned and fixed two days prior. When he finished securing above the mantle, Naruto noticed more details about the painting. There were faint raised lines on the woman's dress, almost as the painting had held something else and the artist painted over it. A mistake of some sort? They had the shape of legs and Naruto briefly wondered if maybe the woman was originally drawn in the nude. It would explain the blush. Something or someone must have had the artist fix it and put her in clothing. As he continued to examine the faint raised lines, Sasuke arrived.

"Guess what?" he heard Sasuke call out, sounding enthusiastic, a sound Naruto had not heard in over three years. 

"Did you get an interview?" Naruto asked warily, hoping that this was the case and that Sasuke wouldn't blow up at him again. He got off the ladder as Sasuke came into the hallway.

"Yes. And I got a job offer on the spot! It'll be long hours but it's not that different from my stint at the Yue Tokyo Enterprises. I'll probably be up with promotions soon. And then I can buy you more stuff for this house so we can move into a room together again."

Sasuke pulled Naruto in and gave him a deep kiss, and Naruto could feel his heart swell. This was the man he had chosen to be with. Sasuke continued to hold him, and then he abruptly let go. "What the hell is that?" he asked with obvious distaste, and Naruto felt like he had been doused in cold water.

"Oh, ummm... the painting?" Naruto asked, seeing that Sasuke was staring up at the portrait above the fireplace mantle.

"Why the hell did you put that there?"

"Well, I found it, and we don't have anything for the walls yet other than our pictures... but I want those for our room. And judging by their clothes, I can't help but wonder if this was their house. I was kind of hoping by doing this that they will... I don't know... give us their blessing and good luck."

Sasuke scoffed. "You still believe in ghosts? Dobe."

Naruto pouted as Sasuke headed towards the kitchen. "We don't need dead people's blessings and good luck," he was saying. "What we need is money and hard work."

Sasuke's joyful tone had become bitter once more, leaving Naruto to sigh. Naruto glanced back up and was slightly startled. For a brief moment, it had looked like the man was looking down at him and that his mouth was turned upwards ever so slightly, and that the woman's eyes looked like there was a shimmer of unshedded tears.

Naruto backed away, wondering if there was some sort of trick of the light. He shook his head and assumed that maybe it was the light casting reflections and shadows. He followed Sasuke.

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is feeling restless and Sasuke goes back on his word. Strange things seem to be happening, but only Naruto seems to be privileged to experiencing them...

**Chapter 2**

Naruto wept a frustrated tear away as he dusted the mantle of the fireplace in the hallway. Three months had passed since Sasuke got the job, and while things seemed to be going great for Sasuke, Naruto was seriously questioning how well their relationship was going.

Despite all the annoyance Sasuke had expressed about Naruto not sleeping in Orochimaru's old room, and the promises of moving into a new room once it's been furnished, Sasuke kept spending money for all of the other rooms. Naruto couldn't help but feel that maybe Sasuke really wasn't interested in sleeping in the same room anymore. Sex was as infrequent as in the past few years, and while Naruto had often invited Sasuke into his room for some love-making, Sasuke would immediately leave the room once done. It made him feel like some sex toy. And the long nights at work had him questioning Sasuke's fidelity again.

Was Sasuke really working late or was he spending money on clubs again while Naruto stayed behind, cleaning and still fixing the damned mansion? Naruto looked up at the painting and touched the bottom of the frame. "I know the chances of you guys having married out of love were slim due to the times you probably lived in, but I hope you two were happy with each other. If you guys are still around, I hope you give us your blessing to lead a life as a happy couple. I mean, sometimes when I look at you, I feel as I'm looking at Sasuke and myself. Only... Sasuke would never pose for a portrait like this."

Something soft brushed down his cheek, like a finger caressing him.

Naruto jumped back, rubbing his cheek furiously as he looked up to see if he had missed some cobweb above on the ceiling. He saw none and frowned, continuing to rub his cheek at a slower and gentler pace. 

Shortly afterwards, Naruto found himself up in the attic again. With most of the rooms now done, Naruto found himself spending some of his free time in the attic exploring all the old belongings of the Utamaki family. Going through the chests and wardrobes, he had found out that the couple in the portrait were most likely named Sai and Kushina Utamaki. But what was real strange was that there weren't that many smaller portraits and belongings of Kushina depicting her younger years. There were plenty of items of Sai, and of a young man named Rey Hatake. That was a rather interesting find. Naruto was blown away about how much Rey looked like him and how much he looked like Kushina. The only thing missing were the scars on his cheeks. There were also several sketches, mostly of Rey. And a few of them made him question the actual relationship between the three. Rey and Kushina had to have been siblings from how they looked. But several of the sketches, all signed by Sai, were of Rey in different stages of undress. Many of them showed him sleeping. Sketches of Kushina were rare. 

He did find a diary and a journal belonging to Kushina and Rey, but both were locked. And because they were so old, Naruto really didn't want to break it open. 

A phone call later in the day revealed that Sasuke was going to be home early that evening, and for supper to be prepared for the two of them. Naruto felt his spirits lift up as he set about cooking and setting the table. He put up the candles, the silverware and porcelain dishes on top of elaborate and beautiful place mats. He folded matching fabric napkins and placed them next to the plates. He then went back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.

The phone rang once more and Naruto answered it, holding a box of matches in his hand.

"Uchiha residence," he responded, as he pulled out a match and held it near the box.

"I'll be home in a few minutes," he heard Sasuke say.

"Great! Food is almost ready. Just make your way to the dining room table and I'll take care of the rest." Naruto smiled as he hung up the phone and got ready to strike the match against the box to light the candles. Turning around, he saw that they were already lit. Naruto frowned and looked down at his hand. The match tip was burnt black. He didn't remember lighting it, or the candles, but maybe he had before answering the phone? Naruto felt frustrated again, this time about himself. He was bored being alone in this mansion all the time and he was positive that it was the boredom that was making him have these mini blackouts. Minor things that creeped Naruto out because it made him feel that something else was doing it. Many times he had thought he had closed a drawer, only to find it open, or even vice versa. Same with the lights being turned on or off, windows being opened or closed. Sometimes he swore he would put things down in one place and find them somewhere else. But he didn't dare mention it to Sasuke. The man would probably freak accusing Naruto of being a kid and believing in ghosts or accusing him of being crazy.

Naruto just shook his head and put the matches away.

Sasuke arrived fifteen minutes later as Naruto just finished serving the last plate.

"Looks good," Sasuke commented, placing his briefcase on one of the vacant chairs of the dining table and sitting down in front of one of the plates.

"You know I love to cook," Naruto responded with a smile, kissing Sasuke on the top of his head.

Sasuke dug in, and Naruto couldn't help but pout a little. Back when their relationship was still new, Sasuke always waited for Naruto to be sitting down as well. Now Sasuke just ate when he felt like it, and sometimes was done before Naruto could sit down. Naruto took the pan back into the kitchen and made his way back to the dining room. He sat down and quietly began to eat his meal, trying to figure out how to bring up the subject of being able to work or do something outside of the house.

"Sasuke," Naruto started to say quietly.

"The company wants to throw a party and I offered my house," Sasuke said abruptly.

"I... oh? But, but the house isn't completely finished," Naruto said. "Unless we're completely restricting on where they can go. The bottom two floors are fine except for the ball room."

"Yeah, about that. Look, I know I promised that the money coming in this month would be for the bedrooms on the third floor but we need to get the ballroom up and running in time for this party."

Naruto sighed, which of course annoyed Sasuke.

"Why is it bothering you so much to sleep in my room?"

"We've been through this before, Sasuke. Orochimaru died in there! Doesn't it bother you that you're sleeping on a dead man's bed?"

"It's been over three months. And besides, the bed is fucking nailed to the floor. I changed out the mattress and the bedsheets. Other than the frame, it's no longer his bed."

"So why don't we move some of the stuff into my room?"

"Why the hell should I sleep in a room other than the Master bedroom?!"

Naruto bit his lip.

"You're being retarded. I think I've been patient enough. I was just humoring you, Naruto. I mean, seriously. This is our house now and I'll be damned if I sleep in a room that is not meant to be the master's bedroom. No more fucking excuses. If you don't want to be with me in my room than maybe you shouldn't be with me at all."

"Sasuke..." murmured Naruto, feeling his throat tighten. Why was he letting Sasuke be like this to him?

Sasuke glared at him with cold eyes, and Naruto debated if maybe it was time to move on.

"That's what you've been trying to tell me, hasn't it?" Sasuke muttered, a strange glint in his eyes. "You've been trying to find a reason to leave me all alone again. Just when we're finally on the right track you want to give up on me?"

"No, you know that's not true!" Naruto protested. "I just really don't like that room! Well, the house to be exact but..."

"And what's wrong with the house? It's creepy? It's spooky? Bullshit, Naruto. You're a grown man."

Naruto felt himself getting angry. "Fine. Then will you accept that the house feels too damn lonely? I want to look for a job, Sasuke."

"No. I'm bringing in enough money for the two of us. You just need to keep this place up."

"God, dammit! I'm not some woman, teme! And even if I were, women don't just play docile little housewives anymore! It's lonely being here by myself every single day!" Naruto could feel the anger in him growing. For all these years he had catered to this man's whim in a very unbalanced relationship. He was done. Sasuke had to give something up for him or else.

"I know you're not some woman, Naruto. But why work? And you wouldn't feel so lonely if you didn't sleep in a separate room."

"Fine! I'll sleep in your damn room, Sasuke, but I won't give up on getting out of the house during the day. At least let me volunteer or something! I feel like I'm going crazy by myself in here. Things always seem to move around on their own, lights are off when I thought I had them on or vice versa, and I see shadows moving on the walls. It's so fucking quiet in this house that I imagine whispers and sounds! Sometimes I completely black out and lose track of time and things I want to do are suddenly done or things I thought I did aren't! I need to get out of house!" Silence reigned for a bit and Naruto mentally kicked himself for saying exactly what he didn't want Sasuke to know.

"Fine. Volunteer or something, but don't let it interfere with keeping this house in good condition."

"Seriously?" Naruto was surprised that Sasuke didn't comment about his seemingly unstable memory condition.

"Whatever keeps you from running your trap with all that nonsense. Just don't forget to start working on the ballroom when I come home with the stuff."

Naruto felt mixed emotions. On one hand he was happy that he was finally going to be able to do something other than clean the creepy old mansion, but on the other hand it seemed that Sasuke completely disregarded his subtle plea for help. Naruto seriously wanted to believe that there were no such things as ghosts or spirits, but then that meant he had to consider the possibilities that something was mentally wrong with him. He had heard of mental disabilities such as schizophrenia and paranoia and multiple personality disorders and he felt that some of what was happening were symptoms to them. And he was still within the age range that they sometimes manifested in a person. For Sasuke to not even mention that, whether in seriousness or to mock him... but whatever. Naruto was going to have a chance of being free from the house.

"Thank you," Naruto said, and kept silent for the rest of the meal.

Later that night, Naruto kept his word and slept in Orochimaru's old room. Although he supposed it was more accurate to call it their room now. Sasuke caught him by surprise then, as he was rather forceful during sex. 

Naruto hadn't even made it to the bed before Sasuke had come up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. Before he had a chance to say something, Sasuke had pushed him to the bed and began to nip at his neck. Hands tore at Naruto's clothes before doing away with his own.

"Easy, teme," Naruto muttered, a bit scared at the sheer desperation Sasuke almost seemed to display. He was flipped onto his back and Naruto had to bite back a moan as Sasuke suddenly engulfed his cock with his mouth, making him harden almost instantly. Naruto gasped and writhed, first in pleasure, and then in pain as Sasuke inserted a finger into him without much warning. 

It wasn't that gentle, but Naruto did his best to endure. There was a different feel to this than before. It almost seemed as if Sasuke were trying to release all his pent up frustrations. Before long, Sasuke had Naruto on his hands and knees, thrusting into him fast and deep. Sweat dripped off both bodies as they gasped for air. Naruto knew that he would feel extremely sore tomorrow, and tired, but he didn't care. 

His body tensed up as he was filled with ecstasy, and he cried out as his body tensed up, drawing a cry from Sasuke.

He could feel the warmth of Sasuke's cum coat his insides, and he dropped down as Sasuke's weight came down fully on top of him.

Sasuke rolled off of him, completely clear of any wet spots on the sheet. Naruto could hear him panting for air, and he heard it as it slowed down to even breathing. Sasuke had passed out. 

Naruto sighed. Sasuke was never really a cuddler, so that meant he had little space to move. At least Sasuke had gotten the mattress that minimized bouncing. With Naruto tossing and turning while trying to find a comfortable position off of a wet spot, Sasuke remained asleep, unaffected by the movement.

Unable to sleep, Naruto thought back to the portraits in the attic. Glancing over at the silently sleeping Sasuke, Naruto got up and quietly made his way back up to the attic, wincing at the pain he was feeling in his lower back. He turned on the light and walked over to the corner he had set up in the course of the past twelve weeks. He moved several of the sketches around, trying to locate an actual painting of Rey he had seen before. Finding the one he was looking for, he held it up. The size was small compared to the one out in the main hallway. It was roughly 9x14 and it was a head and shoulder portrait. Just like the big one, the painting seemed so lifelike. Naruto couldn't help but feel mesmerized, slightly angling it in the light. Although the paint was dry to the touch, it shimmered, as if the hair were done with silk and the eyes and lips were moist. He still felt like he was looking into a mirror, if it weren't for the lack of scars on Rey's cheeks.

Naruto fingered his own cheek, trying to remember how smooth they use to be. It had always made him feel insecure, which might explain why he stuck with Sasuke for so long. The man had looked past the scars. Naruto set the portrait back down and turned around.

A figure stood in the opposite corner.

Naruto let out a small cry and tumbled backwards, papers flying everywhere. He scrambled to his feet and moved into a fighting position, fists raised. He blinked in confusion and then felt himself blush in embarrassment as he realized that the figure was just a wire mannequin with an outfit draped on it. He chuckled to himself and walked over to it. He had forgotten he had found this two weeks earlier. Once he was standing in front of it, Naruto paid attention to the outfit. It did resemble some of the sketches, and it looked handmade. Naruto wondered if maybe it belonged to Rey. Curiosity overwhelming him, Naruto gently took the coat and dress shirt off the mannequin and put it on himself.

It fit perfectly.

"Amazing," he whispered, and quickly made his way to where he knew there was an antique mirror. He yanked off the cloth that was protecting it and stood in front of the old mirror. He turned side to side, marveling in how much he looked like Rey Hatake with the outfit. Something gently brushed the back of his neck, making him jump. Slapping his hand over the tingling spot, Naruto looked around and up. He could make out some webs, but no spiders. Shuddering in disgust, Naruto took off the coat as quickly but gently as possible. "Hope whatever that was isn't poisonous," he muttered to himself.

Putting the outfit back on the mannequin, Naruto let out a huge yawn. He glanced at the portrait and decided that he would put up the painting of Rey up on the mantle as well. But that would be tomorrow, as he was feeling too tired to go all the way downstairs and put it up.

A few minutes later, Naruto slid into Sasuke's bed. He glanced over and saw that the man was still sleeping, apparently not having heard the fall Naruto had taken in the attic. Naruto shook his head in mild exasperation. He settled down and lay on his side, closing his eyes as he thought of visiting the community recreational center to find information on any volunteering events. Almost falling asleep, he felt fingers run down the side of his hip in a playful caress.

Naruto chuckled tiredly. "Mmm... Sasuke. Too tired."

"Mm, what?"

Naruto opened his eyes as Sasuke shifted over to look at him from over his shoulder, his eyes cloudy and dazed and a frown on his face.

"Uh... never mind. Go back to sleep."

"Hn." Sasuke rolled back over and in seconds his breathing deepened again.

Naruto shivered involuntarily as he rubbed his hip. _Nerves_ , he thought to himself. _It's just my nerves or muscles twitching or something. Yeah, that's it._

Sleep came a lot later for Naruto that night.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is finally out of the house and encounters an eccentric local historian. He has also been asked to do something he's not fond of by Sasuke. And the strange occurrences continue and begin to interfere with his sleep.

**Chapter 3**

"I'm not leaving you money to take a cab down into town and then back again," Sasuke stated as he was grabbing his office belongings.

"But you promised I'd be able to help outside this house," Naruto argued as he was tying the shoelaces on his sneakers.

"Look, just come down with me. I'll drop you off near the rec center and pick you up on the way back."

"But the rec center doesn't even open until 10!"

"There's a diner that you can eat at or something. Their lunches are good, so I'm assuming their breakfasts are, too."

"Okay!" Naruto gave Sasuke a big smile.

Sasuke muttered, "Idiot," but Naruto couldn't take offense because he could make out a small playful smirk on Sasuke's lips as he turned away. 

The trip to town took roughly 40 minutes, and during that time, Naruto felt like it was the old times. He chatted Sasuke's ear off, and rather than being ignored the entire time, Sasuke actually talked back to him. They talked about Sasuke's job, the plans for the ballroom, and what type of party it was going to be. Being that it was October, the company wanted a costume party. Despite the disappointment that Sasuke went back on his word about Naruto's bedroom, the idea of a party was beginning to grow on Naruto. The party would be in three weeks and Naruto was certain that in less than two weeks he would have the ballroom cleaned up, especially if he volunteered only two days max each week. Then after the party he would open up his volunteering availability. 

The good feeling lasted until they pulled up and parked at the diner's parking lot.

"Naruto?" Sasuke addressed him, sounding uncertain.

"Yeah?" Naruto felt a cold dread in him. Last time Sasuke had sounded like this, it was when his parents were threatening to disinherit him because of his sexual orientation. 

"The people at my workplace... they know I live with someone, but they don't know the nature of our relationship, except for one person. They don't even know that you're a guy."

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So... what... you want me to not be there during the party? Pretend to be some cousin or just a simple room mate?"

Sasuke looked out at the road. "Well, not exactly. I mean, if you think about it its almost perfect. It is a Halloween party. Maybe you can dress up as a girl? One with a weak disposition, that way we can use it as an excuse that she can't come out into the open, and that you're there to help care for her every now and then or something." Sasuke looked over at him with a slightly nervous look on his face, but he didn't flinch at the look Naruto was giving him.

"Let me understand this... you want me to pretend I'm a sickly wife and her brother?! Son of a bitch, Sasuke! Why keep me around if you are that fucking embarrassed or ashamed to be my lover?"

"I'm not embarrassed, it's just that I'm still new to this position!" Sasuke's response was defensive. "And the boss struck me as a homophobic asshole. In a few months he'll be leaving the company and his nephew Neji Hyuuga is taking over, and his nephew is a lot more open minded. To be honest, he's the one that knows and made the suggestion to keep our relationship a secret for now. So, please? Think of something?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know," he muttered. "I think I'd rather just not be at your party."

"You can't not be there," Sasuke stated, nervousness replaced with determination. "Unless you want me to find someone else to play my significant other. If that's the case than it'll be easier to go out in public because she wouldn't have to hide."

Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Let me take care of the room. I'll let you know next week if I can do this or not, that way you will have enough time to find someone if I chose not to."

Naruto felt Sasuke grab his chin, firmly but not harshly, and he let the man pull him over to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I appreciate it that you'll at least consider the option."

"You're welcome," Naruto whispered, and then got out of the car. He waved at Sasuke as he pulled out of the parking lot and then turned to the diner. "And you're fucking lucky that I took acting classes in high school if I go through with it," he muttered, still feeling hurt. 

Glancing at his watch he saw that it was only 8 o'clock. Two hours to kill. Eating at the diner would probably not take long at all.

Stepping in, he was immediately noticed by the server behind the counter, as well as two other customers sitting at booths. The server was a young woman with brown hair, her name tag reading Ayame. She looked up and gave him a look that could only be described as being full of curiosity.

"Morning, sugar. New around here?"

Naruto paused at the doorway and then nodded as he smiled. He really shouldn't be surprised that he would be noticeable. The town seemed small enough that everyone was at least familiar with faces of those who lived here. And since he never made it to town since moving in, he should have known that he would have been identified as being new immediately.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said as a way of introduction. 

"Where ya from?"

"Couple places. Most recent being from Japan."

"Oh! We have a pretty new regular here from Japan, too. Sasuke Uchiha."

"Yeah, he's my... um... room mate. Well, I'm his room mate slash handyman. I'm helping fix the mansion he's staying at." Naruto chuckled nervously, unable to believe that within seconds he almost blew their secret. Damn Sasuke and his pride. 

"Well, have a seat, hon! You're staying at that creepy place, too? Unbelievable. I thought he was crazy. So I take it you know his wife? Is she doing okay?"

Son of a bitch. No wonder Sasuke suggested faking a wife... he was already using that cover story! Naruto gritted his teeth and answered as calmly and politely as possible as he sat down at the counter. "Yeah, she's my twin sister." And damn himself to hell, why didn't he say cousin? "But she's a rather sick girl. We moved here in hopes that it would help her lungs and all, but so far nothing has improved. She rarely steps out of the house."

"Poor thing. Maybe you can arrange for her to have company?"

"Depends on how well she's feeling. She likes to be as hospitable as possible, but when she goes through one of her spells, its best to leave her without any excitement." Naruto couldn't believe how easy it was to lie to some stranger. But then again, that was what Sasuke was apparently doing. 

One of the men at the booth snorted. "Well, I certainly pegged that pretty boy wrong. Thought for sure he was one of them homersexuals and was lying about having a missus."

Ayame frowned at the two as the other man chuckled. "Hell, you must be disappointed considering how you was obsessin' o'er it. Was you hoping he could scratch yer itch someday?"

"Fuck you."

Naruto fought to keep a grin on his face as he realized that maybe Sasuke had a good reason to keep things quiet for now, especially if there were people like them around.

"Charlie, Taylor! That's enough! Even if he were, the guy keeps to himself around here. He would have been no bother." Ayame glared at the two men and they quieted down, going back to eating. She turned to Naruto. "Please don't pay attention to them. They're stuck on the old ways. Fortunately not everyone is like that. But it's a shame about your sister. I still hope I'll be able to meet her. Anyhow, what can I get started for you?"

Naruto took a quick look at the menu and felt his mouth watering. "One Meat Lover's Platter! Orange juice. And a side of pancakes!"

"How do you want the eggs on the platter?"

"Scrambled, please!"

"Oh, you are such a cute doll!" gushed Ayame as Naruto gave her a dazzling smile. "Anything else?"

Naruto glanced at the menu one more time and noticed something under the soup section.

"Ramen? Like a Cup O' Noodles style ramen?"

Ayame giggled. "No, it's homemade! My daddy owes a shop back in my hometown."

"I'll have one bowl of that then."

"Well, we normally serve it after 11 but for you, doll, I'll be glad to whip you some. It'll take a bit."

"Thank you!"

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto was chowing down on his Meat Lover's Platter, an artery clogging dish stacked with four pieces of bacon, two pieces of ham steaks, three sausages, hashbrowns, and three scrambled eggs. Ayame had sat him at a booth since the ramen was going to take a little bit longer and she told him it would be more comfortable to wait there instead of on the bar stool. While he was sitting there, he observed as more people came in and greeted Ayame by name. She would respond back and Naruto couldn't help but like how close the town seemed. It was a rather diverse group ranging in ages, and while most of the people visiting were men, there were a few women that seemed colorful to say the least. They all seem to glance at Naruto, seemingly startled at the new face, and would always glance at Ayame who would introduce him.

Naruto watched that even though they came in at different times, different people seemed to gravitate towards others, joining them as they were in the middle of their meal to start a chat.

In some sense he did feel a bit lonely that no one seemed curious enough to join him, but Naruto understood that he was a stranger and a close knit group like this might just want to put him under observation first. But when Ayame placed the bowl of ramen fresh out of her kitchen in front of him, he was joined by a strange man with gravity defying silver hair and wearing an eye patch. He would have assumed the man was senile and old, sitting down at someone's booth when there were still spaces free, but there weren't any deep wrinkles around the one visible eye and the hands holding an orange book in front of his face didn't look like old man's hands either.

"You're in my seat," the man said without looking at him.

"Huh?"

"Now, now, Crow... I sat him there knowing that you would sit here as well, regardless of whether this table was empty or not," said Ayame as she put a stack of pancakes in front of the man. "You're coffee will be up in a moment."

Although "Crow's" lower face was covered by the book in front of him, Naruto could feel the older man pouting. His one eye turned to look at him.

"Newbie, huh? What's your name?"

Naruto felt slightly annoyed by this one. "Isn't it polite to give your name first? 'Cause even though she called you 'Crow,' I don't think that's your real name."

"Nope. Nickname. And yours?"

"Naruto Uzumaki... wait, you didn't tell me yours!!"

A few people around Naruto snickered as the man's eye curved into an upside U. "Japanese, huh?"

Naruto nodded. "Well, by name, really. I mean, I did live in Japan during my high school and college years, but I've been around other places and countries quite a bit. Mostly big cities."

"I lived in Japan during my younger years. My parents moved here due to business deals but whatever. Name's Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto gave a start. "Hatake? Wow, that's the same name as the guy whose portrait I found where I'm staying at."

There was a small bit of silence as Kakashi leaned forward, snapping his book closed with one hand, the other covering his mouth as it was turned to cup his chin, propping his head up. "What's the guy's name?"

"Rey Hatake."

"Are you serious?! You live in the Utamaki Manor?!"

They were interrupted by Ayame's giggle as she came to bring more juice to Naruto. "Doll, you better run if you don't like chatting. Crow here is a historian, and he likes finding things that normally don't make their way to a school text book. He's been interested in the Utamaki manor for years! Evil man was actually hoping Mr. Orochimaru would die quickly so that someone else would move in and let him explore to his heart's content."

"Well, it's not like anyone will miss him," was Kakashi's reply as he snapped his book back open and began to read again. "He was a true eccentric hermit, always inviting that Kabuto kid to work as his personal assistant."

"Now there are two of yer flamin' homosexuals, Charlie. That Oro guy was a pedo, I just know it! 'Cept our children were safe cuz he had Kabuto as a regular."

"Taylor!"

"Hey, I'm just repeating what my wife said!"

"Chatting gossip with the old ladies? You sure you ain't turning into one?"

"As you so eloquently put it earlier, fuck you."

"I'd say 'Kiss my ass,' but I'm afraid you'd take it as an offer."

"Oi!"

Several people laughed as Ayame struck each man across the head. "Enough of that talk. Orochimaru was a sickly man. And he was Sasuke's uncle. So show some respect because he was an in-law to Naruto here."

"Sorry, sorry," said the man named Taylor. "No disrespect, kid. But the man was weird all the same."

"And he could be mean," said a woman who was sitting two tables away. "Heard he made such a racket when Crow asked if he could explore the house."

"That's okay," responded Naruto. "I never really met him." He turned to Kakashi. "But, uh... why do they call you 'Crow?'"

"Play of words on my name."

"What?" Naruto thought back to all he knew of the Japanese language. "Oh! Scarecrow? But..."

"He acts more like a crow," Ayame replied. "When he gets started on his history lessons, one just tries to tune him out like you do with the crows in this area. And that's because after awhile, all you hear is, 'Caw! Caw!'"

"Naruto, they are so mean." 

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the earlier annoyance with this Kakashi person, he realized that the man was just acting like some attention depraved teenager, acting all distant, being enthusiastic about one particular thing, and then accusing everyone else of being against him and trying to gain the sympathy of some new sucker.

"So why are you interested in Rey Hatake and the Utamaki Manor?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, it's not just because we share the same name. Part of my family has lived here for generations, and following the family tree, I come from Rey's brother. There are actually a lot of mysteries surrounding both the Hatake and Utamaki families, and I've been dying to find out those secrets. For example, Rey was disinherited from his family. His name actually has a line across it in one of the original family tree wooden plaques I've found. I want to know what is it that he did so bad that the family shunned him when all old newspaper clippings show him to be a great assistant to Sai Utamaki. And why is there no mention of his death. And why did he live with Sai and Kushina Utamaki. And of course why was Sai Utamaki also shunned by his family and why was he committed into a mental hospital, and what happened to his wife during that time."

"Wow... they sound like they had a tough time..." Naruto commented, feeling weirded out about having put their pictures on the wall. If he knew they apparently didn't lead a happy life, he might have just left the pictures covered in the attic. But at the same time, the face of the smiling Rey and the blushing Kushina seemed to brighten up the hallway, and Naruto felt guilty at the thought of sealing them away again.

"I only have tiny bits of pieces of their lives. It's nowhere near complete as I'd like it to be."

"Well maybe I can at least get you some of their personal stuff. We have a quite a bit still in the attic."

"Are you going to be here all day?"

"Well, I'll be looking for volunteering events at the rec center."

"Perfect! I work at the public library part time and they usually have volunteering events posted at the rec center. If one's open, you can volunteer there and then talk to me during breaks and meals!"

Kakashi sounded enthusiastic, and Naruto could almost imagine the gleeful dance the man was doing in his head.

Naruto and Kakashi talked about several key sites around the town up until Kakashi had to leave to head to his workplace. By then, several of the other people had left as well. And when Naruto left, the only ones remaining were Charlie and Taylor, still antagonizing each other when Ayame was too far away to overhear their comments.

As it turned out, when Naruto registered at the Rec center, there was an opening for the library the following week, but none for that day. Instead, Naruto helped with a Seniors Dance class, much to the relief of a harried instructor. Using wit and charm, he had a lot of elderly women complimenting him, and a few widows wishing they were decades younger. Several of the men asked him for tips on snagging ladies, much to Naruto's embarrassment.

For lunch, he decided to eat at the cafeteria located within the rec center, not wanting to risk meeting up with Sasuke at the diner. If Charlie and Taylor also ate lunch there, Naruto was afraid of putting Sasuke in a position of having a lot of attention drawn to him. And with the way those two men were going, Naruto was sure they would try to put the two on the spot. Sasuke alone could handle situations like that. And so could Naruto. But Naruto knew his own faults and being in potentially embarrassing or uncomfortable positions with another person involved had him react in more negative ways. 

After the lunch, Naruto helped manage some high schoolers playing basketball. It was interesting seeing the male teenagers act like mini alphas and test him, although a few were interested in learning about him. By the time that ordeal was over, Naruto was exhausted.

He made his way back to the diner after the rec center closed for the day. 

By then it was some other woman and she wasn't nearly as friendly as Ayame. Instead, Naruto made his way to a corner, ordered a small sandwich and waited. When he saw Sasuke's car arrive, he went out and got in.

"I thought you got out early today?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded to the back of his car. "I have supplies for the ballroom."

"Oh. I thought you were going to want to go shopping for that together."

"It's easier this way."

"Oh... I met Kakashi today."

"Don't invite him over to explore. In fact, don't invite anyone. It's bad enough I'm hosting this party to look good in the company, but don't invite other people without good reason, okay?"

Naruto nodded and slumped in his seat.

The ride back to the house, unlike in the morning, was quiet. Naruto knew that Sasuke was curious, or worried, about his silence from the glances he was throwing him, but Naruto just didn't have the energy or the heart to lead any conversations. The day was fun, but knowing that he was going to have to help Sasuke keep their relationship a secret made him sad. 

When they got back to the mansion, Naruto briefly paused in front of the large portrait on his way to the ballroom with some of the supplies. He glanced up on them and once again found himself studying the faces of both Sai and Kushina. After hearing a tiny bit of what Kakashi knew, he could see that the seriousness in Sai's face was probably a hint to some mental discontent. But seeing the blushing Kushina confused Naruto, because she didn't look like she was blushing from being uncomfortable. It almost looked like a happy blush. But of course that small smile was nothing compared to the happy look in Rey's eyes, and the hint of smile on his lips in the small painting.

Naruto sighed and continued on his way, helping Sasuke bring in the materials he would be using tomorrow to start in the ballroom.

After he was done helping Sasuke carry the items inside, he prepared Sasuke a simple meal of vegetable soup. 

As they got ready to sleep, Naruto was still unusually silent, and Sasuke was beginning to look annoyed. Naruto really wasn't ignoring him, it just was that he was contemplating everything that he had heard and seen.

Naruto went to bed without complaining, and was slightly caught off guard when Sasuke rolled on top of him. Blue eyes met black in the dim light, blue eyes looking up in confusion and curiosity, black filled with lustful determination. Then Sasuke began to kiss his lips and throat, slowly undressing him as his lips continued to make a trail down to his stomach. Naruto just lay still, unsure of what set off this gentle act. Sasuke was in the middle of loosening the tie of Naruto's pajama bottoms when he stopped and moved back upwards.

"You're only half hard. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About who?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Naruto let out an annoyed sound. "No one. More about what you asked of me."

Sasuke remained silent.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll do it," he said in a defeated voice. He opened his eyes to see Sasuke have a puzzled frown on his face. "I'll dress up as a girl for you." 

Sasuke's frown melted away into a calm expression on his face. He began to kiss Naruto again, this time with a bit more passion. His kisses began to get more aggressive as each minute passed, and he let out a chuckle. "You know, the thought of you in a dress is actually turning me on," he said with a smirk.

"Pervert," Naruto responded halfheartedly. Even though he showed Sasuke a smile, he felt as if something in him cracked and he really wanted to cry. He was actually hoping that Sasuke would tell him not to bother and come up with another suggestion. Instead Sasuke was pleased with the idea, and it made Naruto question why. Was he too manly for Sasuke? And if so, he couldn't help but ask himself again, why did Sasuke pursue him if that was the case? Was it all a game?

Naruto's thoughts became harder and harder to focus on as Sasuke returned to his administrations, this time being forceful with his kisses. Naruto felt like he was being consumed as Sasuke finally freed him from his clothes and massaged his body. Despite not really being in the mood for any sex, Sasuke's skillful hands had him hard within seconds, and Naruto felt himself riding a wave of physical pleasure that was impossible to ignore. Those nimble fingers coasted across his body, tugging at his cock, followed by warm lips. 

When Sasuke entered him, it wasn't as rough as the night before, but it still felt just as possessive. He wasn't pounding into him, but he was snapping his hips every so often, slapping flesh against flesh. It was as if each thrust was made to remind Naruto that Sasuke knew his body inside and out, knew how to bring to the point of climax and let him suffer for a bit, unable to achieve release until Sasuke told him it was okay to let go.

And unlike last night, when Sasuke came in him, he didn't roll away. He lay holding Naruto like when they first because an official couple. Naruto came down from his bliss and gently watched as Sasuke fell asleep, his serious face becoming more gentle in the moonlit night. Naruto couldn't help but smile a tiny bit and he closed his eyes.

He wasn't too sure if he had fallen asleep or was almost asleep when he became more alert. The room seemed a bit darker than what it normally was, considering that Sasuke liked leaving the window's curtains open. He glanced to the left and wondered if maybe his eyes were fuzzy from sleep since all he saw was what looked like a black fog. He blinked a bit and looked again, and saw that he could see the window clearly, the moon shining brightly through.

He frowned and mentally shrugged his shoulders as he closed his eyes to try and go back to sleep. 

His eyes snapped open a few minutes later. Sasuke was laying curled around him from his right. But he felt as if another body was laying next to him on his left. Considering that the bed's covers were only up to his waist, he could feel an incredible pulsating warmth blanket his shoulder down to his thighs. And it felt like a hand was gently gripping his hip.

Naruto flinched strong enough to rouse Sasuke.

"What the hell?" he asked, his voice slurring, still half asleep.

"Sasuke, I feel as if someone is laying on my other side!" Naruto whispered, as the feeling suddenly faded away.

"Dammit, Naruto! You were probably dreaming. Go back to sleep or if you're going to make a fuss, sleep on your half of the bed. Or go to your old room. I work early tomorrow and a long day at that."

Naruto didn't respond, feeling as if he had been slapped in the face as Sasuke rolled away from him and rested on his side, back facing him.

He was tempted to kick Sasuke out of the bed and storm out of the room, but the thought of getting out of the bed and encountering that feeling scared him even more. Naruto lay back down, also on his side. Either way, he wasn't too sure how well he was going to sleep. Even though they were still sleeping together, Sasuke looked so far away with his back to him. Naruto tried to keep his breathing steady, and he listened to Sasuke's breathing also level out as he fell asleep.

Naruto closed his eyes again, shivering.

The warm feeling was back, but not as intense as before. But that same pressure on his hip was felt again. He tried brushing it off, but felt nothing but his own skin. 

Naruto kept silent, trying to convince himself that it was probably some type of muscle spasm from playing basketball after weeks of no real exercise. The feeling faded away again after several minutes, but Naruto couldn't fall asleep until hours later.

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While still fixing up the creepy house, Naruto stumbles across a hidden room. He also meets Hyuuga Neji, not at all impressed with Sasuke's employer. And Sasuke... it looks as if Sasuke is falling back to his old ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just borrowing the characters a bit for horror and fun.

**The Portrait From the Attic**

**Chapter 4**

Naruto wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he finished painting the wall he was at. Standing up from finishing the trim, he felt himself lose his balance. He put the brush in the bucket and made his way out of the room, holding his head. He knew that it was most likely the fumes and he just needed to take a break, not to mention open the windows before beginning the next wall. He made himself a quick light lunch, wishing there was a way to have Ayame's ramen delivered all the way out to the mansion, or any of the meals that she prepared. As he crossed through the main hallway, he paused in front of the portraits again, staring into the eyes of Sai and Kushina.

In some ways, Sai's eyes made him feel curious, and a bit uneasy. They seemed so secretive and without passion. But the way his arm was placed around the blushing Kushina's waist, there was a bit of possessiveness in it. Naruto could almost make out the firmness in which Kushina was being held. It was as if the artist tried to bring out that hidden love. What happened to bring about the tragedy that Kakashi himself was trying to get answers to? Then he stared at Kushina's face. This time, he could almost make out a tiny bit of sadness in her eyes. But the smile was so soft and gentle, and the way her hand was placed against Sai's chest... it didn't seem forced. Naruto reached up and touched the portrait again.

"What is it that Kakashi finds so fascinating about your lives? What are you hiding?" Naruto murmured with a gentle tone of wonderment.

A creak from upstairs startled him.

Naruto looked up and listened for another sound.

"It's just the house settling," he whispered to himself, trying to have noise other than the creaks and groans he would hear randomly.

Naruto made his way upstairs and looked around. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, and the sun was brightly shining through some of the windows. He let out a sigh and proceeded to the end of the upstairs hallway, heading to the door that would lead to the attic. Maybe he would find something he could give to Kakashi to use for his collection, like one of Sai's sketches. Entering the attic, Naruto made his way to his little corner to sort through all the papers and boards. He had started categorizing each art piece as sketches, drawings, and paintings. Sai was really good with art work, and Naruto saw evidence in that. When dealing with paints, the pictures seemed almost photographic. When done in pastels or colored pencils, Naruto could almost see the dominating emotion each stroke was done with. The sketches were quick pieces, not at all detailed but Naruto could almost imagine what the person looked like in which Sai caught a quick glimpse of.

As he began to pull aside a couple sheets, a small thump caught his attention.

Naruto paused and listened, his heart pounding. It almost sounded like it came from the wall in front of him. He heard nothing else so he began to rifle through the papers, chalking up the sound to his imagination. But then he heard a soft melody coming from the other side of the wall. 

Naruto frowned in confusion and began to slide the table, chests, and boxes that were up against the wall so that he could press his ear against it. He could clearly hear a repeating melody slowing down, almost like a music box. Naruto knocked gently on the wall and could hear that it was a hollow sound of a thin wooden wall. His hands began to brush along the wooden panelling, trying to see if there was a weak point in the wall that he could try breaking through without having to resort to a hammer. He soon located a seam on the panels, and when he followed it, it wrapped around like a small door without a handle or a knob.

He could no longer hear the sound of the melody when he pressed his ear against the wood. But he did hear a click as the "door" moved slightly inwards. He backed up and the door popped open enough for him to slip his fingers and pull it all the way towards himself.

Naruto was surprised to see that there was a narrow set of stairs laying on the other side of the the small door, and looking up he could see light coming through from up top. He slowly began to walk up the creaking steps, realizing that these stairs were probably leading to the small tower like structure at the very top of the mansion. Ever since he explored the attic, he could never figure out what the purpose of the top of the mansion was other than decoration. Now he knew and was somewhat delighted to see that the little room up top actually served some purpose.

Reaching up to the top, he smiled to see that his guess was right. The stairs opened up into a small room with four walls and a window at each wall. It smelled a little musky, so Naruto tried out the window panes and managed to prop one of them open. Looking around, he realized that there were more items to explore. A vanity set was angled in one corner of the room, with hair brushes, combs, and jewelry all laid out in an organized manor. A jewelry box sat there as well, open, and Naruto immediately went to explore it. He gently picked it up and turned it around. A small key stuck out of a hole on the back on the box. He carefully turned it several times and set it down. It began to play the melody he heard, bring a soft smile to his face. 

Gentle happier times... there was no other way to describe the emotion the tin music box spindle was playing. He looked around and saw that this room looked like it belonged to a seamstress, and in a way, a different type of artist. On one side of the room where several cloth mannequin heads with wigs, including on that looked like it was in the middle of being made. All of them were of long blond hair, some straight, some wavy, loose or tied up in some hair style. A table and a small open box filled with needles and thread sat in front of them. On the other side were four torso wired mannequins that stood on caster wheels, all except one wearing part of an outfit. Several rolls of fabric rested against the wall behind them.

Naruto let out a small gasp when he recognized the outfits that the three mannequins were wearing. They were the dress and the coat that the Utamakis were wearing, and although he only saw pastel versions of it, the third mannequin wore what Rey was often sketched wearing. Or at least more so than the coat he had found in the main attic.

In the adjacent corner of the room rested a large trunk and a wardrobe that was open. Naruto could see that there were several more dresses hanging inside.

Naruto messed around with the trunk and was disappointed to see that it was also locked. So instead he gently pulled out the dresses one by one to really look at them. Despite their age, it looked like many of them were holding well. And considering that they were up in this room for a long time, they weren't that dusty at all. A couple of drawers in the wardrobe revealed some old fashioned women's undergarments. They, too, were clean. In fact, the room almost looked like it was recently cleaned. There wasn't even a trace of cobwebs. And with the sunlight streaming in, Naruto determined that this was his favorite room of this mansion and mentally declared it his hideaway room once the rest of the mansion was done.

He glanced at the vanity mirror while holding one of the dresses and paused. He looked at the wigs through the reflection, and then looked down at the dress he was holding. If he hadn't known that these were genuine dresses handmade who knows how long ago, Naruto would have assumed that they were costumes. And since no one was here but him...

Naruto put the dress on the undressed mannequin that had a female shape and brushed it loose of any particles of dust that it might have had. Taking a deep breath, and feeling a bit embarrassed, Naruto undressed himself. He slowly worked through the undergarments, including a fluffy petticoat, and a corset that had some padding built in.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. Even in the older times it seemed that some women were vain. Naruto laughed at himself with his embarrassment when he looked at the mirror. With the corset on, it definitely looked like he had developed some small breasts.

"You better not ask for anything bigger than this," Naruto muttered, as he ran his hands down the front of his chest. He pitied the women of that generation as he finally began to work on putting on the dress. He soon discovered that maybe the women of that generation probably had assistance from their mothers or servants. He did manage to get it on without damaging the dress, and he was a bit shocked to find out that it fit him almost perfectly. The bosom area of the dress was a little bit big. Maybe by half an inch.

"Nothing that kleenex can't fix," Naruto chuckled to himself.

He looked at the wigs and decided on going with the one styled into a loose bun. Naruto carefully picked it up and put it on. Tucking his hair underneath the netting, Naruto turned around to look at himself in the vanity, feeling his face burning.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he said to himself. He mentally prepared himself to see a ridiculous sight, and instead saw a live version of Kushina staring at him.

"Holy shit," he murmured. "Maybe they were family... Gotta ask Hatake for his family line. Maybe he's my distant cousin or something."

Naruto frowned as he looked at the only thing that ruined the image. His scars, while faint, were clearly visible. He was going to need makeup to hide them if he was going to help Sasuke pull this sham off. Hell, he was gonna need make up to soften his face. Neutral colors at least, since he didn't want to mess around with bright colors.

He pretended to curtsy, awkwardly fumbling with the layers of clothing that made up his skirt.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Dammit! How the hell did the ladies of these times do this? Okay, here we go again."

Naruto tried it a second time and almost succeeded, saying in a soft but mocking way, "Good evening, I'm Mrs. Uchiha." He laughed at himself and looked at his image.

For a split second he thought he saw a figure behind him reaching for him.

Naruto whirled around with a yelp, hands raised in fists.

Nothing was behind him except for the mannequin wearing Sai's coat, and the curtain next to it flowing inward and then settling down as a breeze blew through and then stopped.

Naruto rubbed his face. "I need to stop," he told himself. "It's all in my head. It's just because the house looks creepy. Yeah."

Naruto looked towards the mannequin and got an idea. He rolled the mannequin to the center of the room, carefully avoiding the trap door opening to the stairs. He then went back to the music box and wound it up.

As the melody played, Naruto went back to the mannequin and grabbed one of the sleeves and placed the other hand around the shoulder area.

"A dance, Mr. Uchiha?" Naruto said, trying to soften his voice again. "I would be honored." Naruto began to waltz there in the room, pulling and pushing the rolling mannequin in time with his steps. As he moved across the floor, he almost felt like he was thrown back into another time. He imagined that he was Kushina and that the mannequin in front of him was not Sasuke, but Sai. He felt himself getting comfortable in the dress, and when the melody stopped, so did he, thrown back into modern times.

Remembering that he was suppose to take the role of a sickly wife, Naruto tried again. He let out a soft cough. "Thank you, kind sir. But I must retire. I'm ill, you see, and the doctor recommends I get plenty of bed rest." Naruto rolled the mannequin back to it's spot as he spoke. He then used his normal voice. "Well, he actually recommended I be locked up in a padded room since I talk to inanimate objects, but my 'husband' won't let them. No access to me, you see."

Naruto gently removed the wig from his head and placed it back on the display, combing his hairs through the loose strands. A gentle tug on his hair had him run his hands through trying to find out on what part of the dress it had snagged on. Finding his hair free, Naruto gently began to remove the dress. He placed it back on the hanger, deciding that for the party, he would use Kushina's dress. Roughly fifteen minutes later, Naruto was finally back on his clothes and making his way back downstairs. He had wasted enough time on break. He really wanted to finish at least three of the four walls in the ballroom before the end of the day.

It was around six when Naruto stopped, having completed the task he had set out to do. He made his way to the kitchen and began to cook a quick meal of baked chicken breasts, salad, and steamed vegetables. He frowned when he realized that Sasuke hadn't called yet to give him a rough estimated time of arrival. He usually got in around 6:30, or 8 on the nights he worked late. But either way, he would always call around 5:45 to let Naruto know when he would be home.

The sound of the doorbell caught him off guard. He went to the kitchen's intercom system and pressed a button. "I'll be down in a moment," he said, taking off the orange apron he was wearing and lowering the temperature on the stove.

As Naruto made his way to the front door, he realized that he probably should have asked who was calling. Hoping that maybe it was a delivery man or something similar, he opened the door to find a rather handsome man with waist length dark hair standing at his front door.

"Er... Hello. Can I help you?" he asked, blown away by the sight of an extremely well dressed man. Glancing out, he could make out a black Impala sitting on the drive way. Considering how far the next house was, Naruto couldn't imagine that the guy was lost. 

"Uzumaki, I presume?"

"Yes," Naruto responded, feeling wary.

"Sorry. My name is Neji Hyuuga. I'm one of Sasuke's supervisors."

Naruto felt his heart stop.

"Did something happen to him?" he asked, fearfully.

"No. He'll be late home tonight. My uncle invited him bar hopping, and I'm sure he probably didn't get a chance to let you know. Mind if I step in?"

"I'm sorry," Naruto murmured, stepping back to let Hyuuga in.

"Wow. This looks nice. I hear you've been refurbishing the place. You have a good eye."

"Ah, thanks."

"Forgive my intrusion. It's just that when I realized what my uncle was planning, I knew it would probably worry you if you didn't hear from him at all. I thought it best to give you some company, as my uncle tends to spend almost the entire night hopping from bars. It always happens when someone is promoted within our ranks."

"Promoted?"

Hyuuga gave him a blank look. "Yes. Sasuke has been up for promotion for almost two weeks. He was officially given the position this morning. He didn't tell you?"

"Sasuke doesn't like to bring work home... I mean... it's, uh, it's not like he has to report to me."

"But aren't you lovers?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry. I know about the two of you. And I'm the only one."

"Oh." No wonder the name sounded familiar. Sasuke did mention a Neji last night. 

"It's kind of a pity, though," Neji continued, as he made his way down the hallway and stopped in front of the portrait.

"What is?"

"I like blonds."

Naruto felt like his world went silent as he felt his face flush red. "Huh?!"

"It's a shame that your taken. I do hope that Sasuke is treating you well. Not to imply that you can't take of yourself," Neji quickly added as Naruto's face went from embarrassment to anger. "I mean, it's pretty lonely with our lifestyle here. Not many options. Mmm, something smells good. Are you cooking?"

Naruto nodded, somewhat stunned. "Uh, yeah. Dinner for two. If you're hungry, I can serve you some. Since Sasuke won't be here tonight." Naruto mentally beat himself. Wait, what am I doing?! Sasuke said not to invite people over! But I really didn't invite him, he invited himself. But then again, if Sasuke won't be here tonight...

Naruto really didn't want to be alone longer than necessary. Neji being present was almost a blessing.

"If I'm not causing any trouble, it would be nice. It is a rather long drive home."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, sure, no problem. Let me lead you to the dining room."

Dinner was an interesting affair, to say the least. Usually, Naruto spent the entire time telling Sasuke the different things he did around the house, minus any new findings in the attic. Dinner with Neji was a lot more interactive as they both talked almost equal amounts. By the time Neji was done with dinner, Naruto was tired from laughing. Despite his somewhat stoic mannerisms, Neji knew how to joke around. At first Naruto didn't know when the man was being serious, but little by little he caught onto the way the man thought and was able to relax. He felt like he could be close friends with the man. They had even gone from calling each other by their last names to being on first name basis.

Things became a bit more serious when a series of small thumps were heard over their heads.

"Is someone here with you?" Neji asked, confusion clear in his voice, the sounds stopping almost as suddenly as they started.

"Oh, ah, no. The house just makes random sounds like that. Kind of creepy, really. They sound like footsteps, or someone tapping on walls. Things like that. Not so bad during the day, but at night..." Naruto shuddered.

"I suppose old houses have their stories to tell."

"Yeah, I suppose that's one way of putting it."

Neji actually stayed and helped Naruto clean and put away his dishes. He and Naruto walked towards the front door, stopping briefly in the hallway, in front of the portrait.

"So before Sasuke, you never dated anyone?" Neji asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Mmm... never dated a guy. Sasuke's my one and only. I did do a few childish dates with some girls. Had a huge crush on this one chick named Sakura back in high school... even went to the same college as her. But then Sasuke showed up during that first week and... I don't know. To be honest, it never occurred to me that I would even look at a guy like that. Of course Sasuke was also very persistent. I rejected him who knows how many times before I finally gave him a chance to sway me." He laughed. "I've been with him ever since."

Neji looked up at the portrait. He let out a puzzled sound.

Naruto looked up as well.

"I don't remember his face looking that serious."

In the dim lighting, Sai's eyes seemed to be glaring down at the two. They seemed icy. It was enough to give Naruto the chills. It also didn't help that the hallway was suddenly drastically colder than the other rooms. To make things even stranger, Kushina's eyes looked even more sad, and her smile looked forced.

"I think the lighting messes with the mood of the picture," Naruto murmured, his teeth slightly chattering.

"It's very cold in this hallway," commented Neji, as he put on his coat. 

Naruto rubbed his hands, trying to warm them up. "Yeah, it sometimes is."

He was startled when Neji's warm hands clasped over his own. "Do you want me to stay a bit longer and help keep you warm?" the man asked with a playful smirk, as he brought up Naruto's hands and huffed his warm breath over them. 

Naruto felt his eyes widen and his whole body freeze as Neji stared at him intently, rubbing his hands. Disgust and outrage ran through him, but knowing that this man was still a superior to Sasuke, he carefully masked those emotions. Instead he let out a nervous laugh and pulled his hands gently away form Neji. "You're a funny guy, Neji. Nothing at all like from what I expect all those corporate types. I mean, look at Sasuke. I live with the stereotype!" He opened the door. "And I do appreciate the time you took to drive all the way out here. It does get a bit lonely even though I currently have projects still left to do."

Neji handed him a card. "Well, if you ever want to give someone a call, and your Sasuke is too busy with... clients... try giving me a call. I'll be glad to make some time for you."

"Er, thanks."

Naruto sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted after he closed the door on Neji. He couldn't feel relaxed until he heard the car start and pull away. Moving back through the hallway, Naruto paused in front of the portrait.

"Please stop looking at me like that," he murmured, as he lit some candles. The soft glow seemed to soften the features again, making Sai look like his passionless self again, and Kushina all content. The room didn't seem as cold anymore either. Then he prepared to get ready for bed. 

He prepared himself a tub full of warm water and let his tired body soak in there for a bit. He could almost feel himself drifting for a bit when he felt a change in the air. Opening his eyes, he could see that the room was somewhat dimmer. Slightly turning his head, he thought he could see a figure standing on the other side of the shower curtain.

"Sasuke?" he called out, pushing the curtain aside. 

No one was standing there, and the bathroom light flickered, brightening up the room again. 

Naruto closed and opened the shower curtain a couple of times, trying to control his breathing as he tried to find a reason as to why he was able to make out a figure in the bathroom.

"Okay, time to get out," he told himself. 

He stepped out of the tub after pulling the plug to let it drain and quickly dried himself. Throwing on his pajama bottoms, Naruto made his way to their bed. He climbed up in it and pulled the covers over him, not bothering to turn off the lights. 

"Sasuke, please come home soon," he whispered to himself.

He then closed his eyes and tried to concentrate and the sound of his own breathing and heartbeat, trying to ignore the soft creaks. He eventually drifted away into sleep.

Naruto felt his eyes snap open as his brain registered that something was different around his surroundings. He slowly sat up and looked around in the dark, trying to figure out what time it was. Reasoning caught up with him as he realized that he didn't remember turning off any of the lights. Glancing towards the bedroom's doorway, Naruto let out a muffled yelp when he saw someone standing in the entryway.

The figure moved towards him, and Naruto was able to make out that it was Sasuke through the moonlight.

"Jesus, Sasuke, what are you doing?! Did you just get home?" Naruto looked to the bedside and saw the time. "5:30?!" Naruto felt himself getting angry as he turned to yell at Sasuke. The man was suddenly up in his face, crawling into bed with him.

"What the..." Sasuke captured his lips in a fevered kiss as the man began pulling at his clothes, throwing them onto the floor. 

"Sasuke, wait... what are you... Sasuke stop!" Naruto struggled to get a hold of Sasuke's wrists, smelling the alcohol on Sasuke, and also a whiff of cheap perfume, cologne, and cigarette smoke.

"Horny," Sasuke murmured, his voice slurring. "Been wanting to stick my dick in you all night long."

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out, somewhat mortified and scandalized. Sasuke never spoke like that to him, at least not sober. And he never said anything so crude either when he was drunk. "Sasuke, not like this. I don't like it when you're like... I said stop!"

Naruto struggled with all his might as Sasuke pushed him down. He didn't want to be used by force, it was humiliating! Naruto felt Sasuke pulling away at his pants.

"Sasuke, you promised!" Naruto cried out in desperation, also angry at himself for not being able to fight off a freakin' paper pusher. After all, he was doing manual labor, fixing a house, doing the work of a carpenter. He should have the muscles and the strength to put some desk worker in his place. How in the hell was Sasuke managing to be stronger than him?

Sasuke shut him up by kissing him again, hands gripping his flesh tightly. Naruto cringed as he felt Sasuke clumsily prepare him, inserting dry fingers into his hole, and he finally gave up trying to fight Sasuke off. Past experience proved it hurt much more to fight Sasuke when he was inebriated. Sasuke also proved that he could never be too drunk to become impotent like they claimed drunk people can become. Naruto winced as Sasuke bit and sucked at his neck and chest, not at all romantic and filled with love like the man was probably envisioning in his head. Naruto could only cry out in pain when Sasuke entered him dry. It felt like he was being split open. 

Sasuke was rough with him, there was no other way to describe it. He thrust into him without any real rhythm, slapping flesh against flesh. Naruto had to put a hand up against the headboard to keep his head from striking the wood with each thrust, holding on to the sheets with his other hand, and gritting his teeth as there was nothing else he could do. When Sasuke finally came with a grunt, he collapsed on top of Naruto and almost immediately began snoring.

Naruto pushed him off in disgust and rolled over, feeling dirty, and momentarily hating Sasuke for breaking his promise of getting so drunk. He lay there still, and fell back into an uneasy sleep.

When he woke up again, it was almost nine and the sun was shining through the window. Sasuke had somehow sprawled himself over him and Naruto had to squirm out from underneath to get out of bed. Being a Saturday, he felt no need to rush in taking a shower. 

He carefully washed all the evidence of the night before from his skin, hissing as the water stung a few bites that Sasuke had left on him. Drying himself and getting dressed, he then went about to pick up Sasuke's clothing and put them in the hamper. Crumpled pieces of paper sticking out of Sasuke's pant pockets caught his attention. He pulled them up and opened them. He felt his heart sink when he realized he was holding two pieces of napkins, each with a girl's name and phone number written on them. Naruto threw them into the toilet and flushed them away, trying to stop himself from demanding an answer from Sasuke.

"He promised he would never sleep with someone else," he whispered. As he made his way downstairs to begin making breakfast, Naruto tried to defend Sasuke from his own thoughts. "He was probably just flirting. He would never do something with anyone else, much less women. He said it himself. He's 100% gay."

Naruto began to chop up some ingredients to make omelets. He was in a vegetable mood so he had some green and red peppers, as well as onions and mushrooms. He also had shredded cheese set aside.

Naruto was in the middle of flipping the first omelet over when arms wrapped around his waist, slightly startling him. The sent of stale alcohol reached his nose as Sasuke hummed and kissed the back of his neck.

"Morning," Sasuke murmured. "And sorry."

Naruto turned to look up at him.

"You remember?"

"Not really. But shit, if you left me these scratches..." Sasuke frowned and pointed at the scratches on his chest. They were caked over in dried blood. "I can only guess I broke my promise. Sorry."

"Uh, I'm sorry, too. Didn't mean to... draw blood."

Sasuke shrugged. "Got my back too, I imagine. It stings. Guess it's a fair trade." Sasuke motioned with his fingers to Naruto's neck and chest area.

"Yeah," murmured Naruto, rubbing one of the more painful bruises on his collar bone.

Sasuke went over to sit at the small breakfast table, giving Naruto a glimpse of his back. Several long scratches criss crossed the back of Sasuke. He wasn't sure what scared him more. The fact that Sasuke wasn't blowing up at him for marking him like that, or the fact that in the middle of pushing, pulling, and striking Sasuke the night before, Naruto couldn't remember ever raking his fingers across Sasuke's skin hard enough to gouge him like that.

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First he's mean, then kind, then mean Sasuke keeps a strange cycle going while Naruto does his best to deal. He meets Orochimaro's former assistant who shares some information. Kakashi has an emergency that requires him to leave, but not before Naruto gives him a parting gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to upload the rest of the story. Again, for old readers, enjoy once more. New readers, don't worry. You won't have to wait long.

**The Portrait From the Attic  
Chapter 5**

"Son of a bitch!" Sasuke shouted as he stormed back into the mansion. "There's a scratch on my car and the front seat has been moved! They should have just put me up in an inn or something! Anything but drive my car back here!"

Naruto rolled his eyes as he cleaned up the kitchen. Figures that the only thing that would set Sasuke off into a rambling mode was when someone messed up his car - or to be more exact, someone other than Naruto. When Naruto was responsible, it was a few snide remarks and then the ultimate silent treatment. Not that it bothered Naruto too much. Sasuke's ultimate silent treatment really wasn't that different from his usual conversational skills.

So for now he let Sasuke rant, figuring it would be great vocal exercises for the man.

By the time Sasuke was done ranting, the house was thrown into silence for almost half an hour. Then Sasuke began to talk to him as they worked side by side, replacing several of the cracked wooden floorboards in the ball room.

"So I've been thinking... if we're going to pull this off, we're going to have to put in orders through the phone or internet. I can do that at work during my breaks. It'll raise suspicion if I buy makeup and wigs and stuff like that in town."

Naruto cleared his throat. "Wigs... you don't have to worry about those, Sasuke. I actually found some in the attic the other day. Tried one on yesterday. It fits fine, and it looks real."

"Well, that's one thing out of the way. Then we have to look for a few outfits so that maybe every once in a while we can go to town."

Naruto winced. Go into public dressed as a woman? Didn't sound very appealing at all. "Speaking of going into town, can we get a second car?"

"Why?" 

"Well, so that I can go every now and then as myself. I mean, people already met me at the diner, and it would be weird that I don't show up every now and then to get stuff for my... sister."

Sasuke looked at him somewhat wary. "Sister?"

"Yeah... when people realized I was living with you, I told them you were married to my sister." Naruto responded somewhat calmly. He knew that Sasuke's wariness was in wondering how the topic of Naruto's relationship to him came up, considering that he had supposedly come up with the idea one day before Naruto went to volunteer. He knew that Sasuke would get angry if he had to defend his actions, so Naruto tried to play it off like it was his idea. "They seemed to accept it without question."

"Hn. I'll think about it. Maybe during this week when you volunteer again, you can spend some of the time looking at some used vehicles or something."

Naruto gave him a big grin, earning a small smirk from Sasuke.

Both of them returned to working with a bit of restored energy.

Naruto watched Sasuke from the corner of his eye. It was times like these when everything felt all right. Especially when he would look up and catch Sasuke giving him a gentle look. 

"You're making me blush," Naruto said, deciding to tease Sasuke.

Sasuke snorted as he sanded the new floorboard. 

"Probably because you're filling your own head with kinky thoughts. You want to christian this floor when we're done?"

This time Naruto really did flush. "Eh?! Sasuke, you're the one being perverted! I'm not about to ruin our hard work doing anything like that on top of it!"

Sasuke chuckled. "I'm joking. I don't want our work ruined either."

The rest of the day went by too fast for Naruto. Despite the horrible night before, and the tense morning, the remainder of the day was just like when they were in college, just starting their relationship. Sasuke would joke with him back then, tease him, and give him his undivided attention. Of course in public Sasuke became an asshole. At least it improved over the years to an all around jerk, an annoyance to others but nothing that inspired hatred and malice towards him. 

After dinner, Naruto was treated to slow and gentle sex on the couch in front of the fireplace that was in the entertainment room. It was during that time that Sasuke brought up the night before in form of an apology, as he lay under Naruto.

"I am sorry," he said, as he ran his hand up and down Naruto's arm. "Did I hurt you?"

Naruto remained silent for a bit as his head rested on Sasuke's shoulder. His hand rested on Sasuke's exposed chest. "It doesn't hurt much anymore."

Sasuke winced. "Yeah, well, these scratches still do."

Naruto traced one of the scratches gently. "I honestly don't remember doing this."

"If I was wasted enough to not even remember getting home... I'm pretty sure I deserved it. I didn't even call to let you know I was going to be late."

Naruto felt guilty, seeing the solemn look on Sasuke's face. "That's okay. One of your supervisors dropped by to let me know."

Sasuke looked at him sharply. "Who?"

"Um, Neji Hyuuga. Nice guy. A bit weird sometimes though. Ouch!"

Sasuke's grip on his shoulder had tightened painfully. He let go as soon as Naruto cried out. "Sorry. He came here?"

Naruto nodded.

"Don't invite him in next time."

"Sasuke... the trip up here takes a while. I'm not going to have a person come all the way up here and then not invite him in."

"He has the house number. He doesn't have to come all this way. Don't invite him in next time. In fact, pretend no one is home unless we're expecting some package delivery or something."

Naruto felt his anger growing and he sat up. "Sasuke, isn't he a supervisor? And isn't he the one that knows about us?"

"Which is why I don't want you near him."

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Sasuke practically pushed Naruto away, sat up and crossed his arms, body language clearly stating he didn't want to be touched any longer.

Naruto's temper flared as he asked himself again why did he stay with Sasuke when the man was constantly going hot or cold with him. Naruto stood up from the couch. "Because you say so?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Sasuke stood up to, eyes flashing red. "Your lover. And I'd like to believe that if national law permitted it, your husband, considering how long we've been together!"

"That's just it! You say you're my lover but you act like I'm some servant or toy that you take out only when you want to play!"

"I do not!"

"I no longer have any friends..."

"Like you need them!"

"and I... What? Everyone needs friends, you asshole! I had them!"

"Then where are they now?"

"You! They stopped hanging out with me because of you!"

"Guess they weren't real friends, otherwise they still would have kept contact with you."

"They stood back because I thought it would make you happier but you really haven't changed a bit. If anything you're worse!"

Silence reigned, Naruto breathing heavily from all the shouting, and Sasuke looking murderous.

Sasuke then shoved Naruto out of his way and stormed out of the room.

Naruto almost fell to the ground, eyes wide in surprise. Sasuke had never gotten physically violent with him while sober. To be honest, it left Naruto feeling a bit scared for his safety. If Sasuke began hurting him while being aware of it... who knew how far he would start taking it. Naruto sat back down on the sofa, feeling numb. He sat there for some time, long enough for the fire to go out in the fireplace. 

Realizing that Sasuke was not going to come down and apologize to him, Naruto made his way upstairs. He tried to go into their room quietly, but was given an even nastier surprise of finding the door locked. Naruto felt hurt, and the fear climbed a bit. Sleeping in the same room with Sasuke had made him tolerate the house a bit better at night. Being forced out of the room made Naruto feel anxious, despite the irony that he hated that room the most.

Naruto went back to his old room, glad that he hadn't gotten rid of any of the bedding despite the tiny chance of ever having company over. Naruto slid under the covers, far from feeling sleepy and began to reflect on his past. He questioned himself as to his reason of staying with Sasuke. Was it really because the man had begged so pitifully for him not to go? And what exactly was the deciding factor for him to even get together with Sasuke? Thinking hard about it, Naruto had a hard time defining himself as being gay, especially since Sasuke was the only man that he ever had sex with. If it was Sasuke that pursued him in their college years, and Naruto rejected him to several months, why stay with him? 

Naruto sighed and rolled over.

Someone in a dress was standing in the corner.

"Augh!"

Naruto sat up, throwing the covers off of him and scrambling off of his bed, blindly reaching for the small table lamp that was by the side of the bed. He flipped the switch and the room was bathed in soft light. His heart pounded loudly against his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Nothing but a chair sat in the corner, the drapes of the window resting partially on it. Naruto stared at it for a bit, trying to understand how he could have mistaken a chair and a drape as a person. It looked nothing like a female figure. 

A few minutes later, Naruto got back into bed, feeling extremely cold. It was as if his bones had chilled, making him shiver. He turned off the light and glanced back at the corner, hands trembling as he pulled the covers up. In the darkness, he could make out the shape of the chair and the drape. It still didn't look human at all. The chill in his body got worse, and it felt like everything was going numb. He wanted to call out for Sasuke, but the fear that Sasuke would become angry kept him from saying anything. He actually expected the man to come barging into his room and demanding to know why Naruto screamed. But nothing happened, and Naruto felt his eyelids growing heavy. But it wasn't sleep, at least not really. He felt as if something heavy was sitting on his chest, and even though he was looking at the ceiling, he felt as if he should have been looking at a face.

Then his eyes closed and he began to dream.

_Happy blue eyes looked into a mirror, admiring how slim her figure was in the handmade dress that had taken several weeks to make. Surely he would be pleased. Taking light steps, the young woman quickly descended down the stairs and did not stop until stepping through the front door. A gentleman stood waiting in the yard, strolling near the small pond. He turned around, and cold, calculating eyes looked up. They melted away into a gentle look as his hands raised up and beckoned. She slid into his arms and a chaste kiss was exchanged._

_The embrace was warm._

_And then it was gone._

_Sad blue eyes glanced at his reflection in the window as he buttoned up his coat. He descended down the stairs, faltering when he encountered a gentleman with dark hair coming up. Cold and calculating dark eyes looked up at him and they gave way to a fiery look. Fear settled in the pit of his stomach as he tried to pass the gentleman. A tight grip around his upper arm stopped him, forcing him to turn and acknowledge the man. A smirk was given, and then he was let go. He waited for a few moments, watching as the other man ascended the steps. Then he fled down._

_Angry blue eyes glared into a handheld mirror as her free hand tugged at a loose strand of hair. The mirror was slammed down after a brief moment. Hands picked up a series of drawings, sketches done in charcoal of a young man with a cheerful smile. Trembling hands ripped one in two. Reaching for a second, her wrists were seized and she was yanked around. Deadly dark eyes looked her way, and a burning sensation raked across her cheek as she fell to the ground. Looking up from the ground, the gentleman turned away and collected the scattered drawings. He walked away with them in his hand._

_Wary blue eyes looked at the mirror's reflection of the gentleman standing behind him. A look of resignation flittered by and he turned. The gentleman smiled gently at him, grasping his hands and tugging him forward. A hand reached up and caressed his face._

_Bloodshot blue eyes stared into the water's reflection. Tears dripped into the surface as another step was taken forward. Water weighed down the layered garments of her dress. Hands were folded across her bosom, wishing for her heart to still. Another step was taken, and the water reached up to her neck. It wasn't very long now. Not at all._

His lungs burned for air as a sharp pain burst on his cheek.

"Wake up and breathe!" he heard a familiar voice yell.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he gasped for air, feeling light headed. He stared blankly at the stars in the sky before a hand grabbed his chin and redirected his face towards Sasuke.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke was asking, anger clear in his eyes. 

Naruto could feel his back itching and he looked around. 

He was outside, on the ground. He could see the weeds from the corner of his eyes, and briefly he wondered if Sasuke hadn't been next to him, would he have been completely hidden in the grass.

"Well?"

"Wha?" Naruto looked at Sasuke, his confusion giving way to fright. "What happened? I... how did I..?"

"You're walking out in the cold half nude, dumb ass! Get up!"

Naruto felt the ground shift as Sasuke stood up and then reached down to yank him upwards. He began to shiver as he looked around, deja vu settling in. He was outside of the house, but what made it weird was seeing it at night. He never stepped foot out after dark, at least not alone. And finding himself in a low ground almost fifty yards away from the front door... He felt he had been in this exact place before.

Sasuke sighed and took off the robe he was wearing, throwing it on Naruto who was wearing only boxers. He guided Naruto towards the house, not saying another word.

Once inside, Sasuke led Naruto up the stairs and into their room. 

"Take a shower," he said in an emotionless voice. "Otherwise you'll probably catch a cold and then pneumonia or something."

Naruto nodded, still feeling numb and unsure of what had happened.

He used extremely warm water for his shower, shivering badly as his body began to warm up. As he closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, he remembered glimpses of the dream he was having before being woken up outside. Wasn't he in a pond in his dream? And wasn't the pond outside in the front yard? Naruto opened his eyes, trying to focus on the dream instead of the pain he remembered of being unable to breathe underwater. There wasn't a pond in front of this house, but maybe long ago there was. That would explain the dip where the grass and weeds always seemed to grow the fastest and longest. But why did he walk there? He never had an episode of sleepwalking before. And he was pretty sure that he didn't go for a walk and forgot what he was doing because he was still just wearing his boxers.

As Naruto turned off the water, he caught a glimpse of Sasuke's shadow through the shower curtain.

He sighed and closed his eyes again.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Heard the door open so I looked out the window."

Naruto opened his eyes in confusion. The shadow was no longer there and Sasuke's voice came from the other side of the door. The man could be extremely silent when he wanted to. He didn't even hear the door open. 

A tiny squeak was then heard as the door opened and Sasuke walked in. 

"Here's a towel and a robe."

Naruto pulled back the curtain and looked up at Sasuke, reaching for the towel first.

"What?" Sasuke asked, looking surly.

"Oh, uh... um... thanks." Naruto pulled back, confused now. He quickly dried himself off and then grabbed the robe. Thanks to the argument they had earlier in the day, Naruto also felt uncomfortable to the point of suffocation being in such a small room with Sasuke. He had almost expected the man to leave the robe within reach and leave the bathroom, but instead he just stood there leaning against the wall, waiting for Naruto to be done.

Naruto stepped out of the shower and threw the robe on. He hesitantly made his past Sasuke, but was stopped by a firm hand.

"You know I love you, right?" Sasuke said.

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes, feeling a small blush rise on his cheeks. It was the way Sasuke said it. There was no emotion to the comment, so instead of feeling giddy at the words, Naruto felt embarrassment instead. "Yeah," he responded softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry with you earlier."

Sasuke pulled him forward.

Naruto sighed and allowed himself to be held. To be honest, he never really liked the way Sasuke expressed some of his physical love. He was always treated as if he were a girl. But because Sasuke always had a hard time expressing what he felt... Naruto felt as if it was his duty to allow him to do as he pleased. At the same time, he supposed it made him feel self conscious when Sasuke had his head tucked under his chin like some child.

"Let's go to bed."

Naruto allowed Sasuke to lead him to their bed and offered no resistance as the man gently helped him in. He stared up at the ceiling, still pondering how and why he had ended up outside. He didn't respond when Sasuke cuddled up against him, instead just choosing to lay there. He ignored Sasuke's hands as they slowly began to caress his chest and stomach, only taking a small gasp of air when the hands finally reached much lower and grasped his soft member. 

Naruto grasped Sasuke's hand and turned to look at him, confusion in his eyes.

"Just feel," Sasuke whispered, pulling Naruto's hand away with his free one. With both hands, he then grabbed Naruto's wrists and pulled them up over his head, using one hand to pin them. "Just feel," he whispered again, kissing Naruto's cheek as his other hand went back to grab Naruto's hardening member.

Naruto moaned and he could feel his cheeks flushing. His hips began to thrust upwards randomly as Sasuke pumped him at different rhythms. A couple times Naruto could open his eyes and look at Sasuke before closing them again and tilting his head upwards as pleasure coursed through his body. Sasuke's eyes were on him, staring at him with such intensity that Naruto felt borderline between shame and feeling flattered. But as his heart rate rose as he was pushed further and further towards completion, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something else was also staring at him. He could feel the fire of Sasuke's eyes on his right, but he could feel an icy coldness on his left. Glancing over he could see nothing solid, but a couple times, it did look like a shadow.

Naruto finally cried out as he spurted over Sasuke's hand and his stomach. Sasuke let go of his hands and pulled him in closer.

As he lay there panting, Sasuke whispered into his ear. "Dobe, please don't ever think of leaving me."

Naruto let out a deep sigh and he turned to face him, his eyelids growing heavy.

"Sasuke," he whispered, as he felt himself falling asleep. He wanted to respond, but he was too tired. But his last conscious thought was of how similar the intense look Sasuke gave him was to the look of the gentleman on the staircase in his dream.

XXX

Naruto was rather surprised when Sasuke handed him the car keys.

"It's gonna be a late night and I already got a ride," was all Sasuke said as he got into the passenger side.

"Uh, okay." Naruto went to the driver's side without a word.

Unlike the last trip into town, the drive was rather quiet. Ever since the sleep walking incident, and Sasuke's soft plea for Naruto to remain with him, Sasuke had gone back to being silent. They only spoke when they needed to, but at least Sasuke remained gentle with him in bed. It didn't feel completely forced. Naruto had suffered a couple more blackouts since then, but only for a few minutes. Each time, Sasuke stared at him weirdly and seemed almost hesitant to touch him. And while Naruto felt increasingly uncomfortable again in the house, that feeling diminished the day before his volunteer day. He was looking forward to the diner and meeting up with Kakashi. In the trunk he had managed to store a few of the Sai's drawings and the two journals he had found. He was hoping that maybe Kakashi could find a way to gently open them.

Since Sasuke's work began earlier than the hours at the rec center, Naruto dropped him off. He only leaned towards Sasuke when the man leaned over to him first to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Take care," Sasuke said. "And be careful on the way home."

"I will," Naruto promised. 

Naruto only had time to stop by for a quick bite at the diner, but Ayame was thrilled to see him. From there he went to the rec center and confirmed that he was working at the library that day. He would be reading twice for visiting school children, and then would be assisting in finding research material for college students present. Upon his arrival, he was pleased to see that Kakashi was working there that day as well.

"Good to see you," said the man, face partially hidden behind a large stack of books.

"Glad that you're here," said Naruto. "You won't believe what I've got in the back of my car."

"Oh?"

"Something I found tucked away."

Kakashi's eye twinkled. "Do tell," he purred, making Naruto chuckle.

Naruto glanced at the time. "Oh, drats. Guess I'll have to wait until after story time. Looks like my first gig is up."

Kakashi narrowed his one visible eye. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Naruto went to the children's corner and settled down just as a couple of teachers came in with elementary students. The forty five minutes of story time went fast for Naruto, who seemed to enjoy it almost as much as the young students. When he went to look for Kakashi, he found out that the man was gone. When he asked the head librarian about him, he was told that there was some emergency and that Kakashi had headed out to take care of it.

Feeling disappointed, Naruto went to his station.

It was almost an hour before lunch time when he realized he was being stared at by a man almost his age. The man had dark eyes, grey hair, and glasses. Naruto felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny. 

"Can I help you?" he finally asked.

"Sorry," the man responded, his voice polite and soft despite the arrogant look on his face. "You look extremely familiar. Are you a Hatake?"

Naruto gave a start. "Uzumaki," he responded. "Do you know a Hatake that looks like me?"

The man shook his head in confusion. "Then I'm really sorry. My name is Kabuto, and I used to work in a house that had pictures of a man named Rey Hatake. He looked so much like you."

Naruto's eyes widened. "I live in that house and I've seen those pictures."

"Amazing!" Kabuto sat down next to Naruto. "I use to work for the old master of that house. An eccentric man named Orochimaru."

"Eccentric how?" Naruto asked, curious to know more about Sasuke's uncle.

"Well, he wasn't always weird. When I first knew him he was definitely a brilliant man. I admired him very much. He was a scientist and a doctor, and did lots of research. I was hired to keep up with his paperwork. But that didn't last long. He started getting weird and pretty soon ended up bedridden. He emptied out a lot of the house and only kept his room and the kitchen well stocked. I'm thinking the stress of his research just drove him to the point of being crazy. Those last few months were hard on me. I mean, to see a man you really admire lose himself to some unknown thing."

Naruto shifted uncomfortable. "Unknown thing?"

Kabuto nodded. "Stress. I mean, the man enjoyed his work, so for him to be stressed out to the point of losing his sanity, it just doesn't make sense. He began to say that he was seeing things and hearing things. His weirdest requests were for me to store everything that belonged to the Utamakis and the Hatakes up in the attic, or far from his room. He began to hate the sight of the..." Kabuto gave Naruto a look. "You... you're lover to Orochimaru's nephew, aren't you?"

Naruto turned bright red. "Don't say things like that!" he hissed.

"Sorry. I know what it's like in this town," Kabuto responded, lowering his voice. "I mean, I saw your picture, now that I think about it. You and Sasuey?"

"Sasuke."

"Yeah, him. Orochimaru mentioned that the house was fitting for the two of you. Thinking back on it... I think I understand why he felt that way."

"He felt a house that was driving him crazy was fitting for us?" Naruto asked, feeling both angry and a bit frightened. Of course Kabuto didn't say that the house had driven Orochimaru crazy, but if he himself were feeling it while all alone, then Naruto couldn't help but feel that it wasn't stress that did Orochimaru in.

Kabuto snorted. "The house wasn't driving him crazy. The stress was. No, I mean, I guess he must have felt that the two of you represented the return of both Utamaki and Hatake. Well, with the exception of having a girl present. Maybe he figured you were the Hatake's combined." Kabuto laughed.

Naruto visibly fumed at that remark, but he couldn't help but think about his dream. He had been dreaming that he was both a male and a female. And the person looked vaguely like himself. What if there was some truth to what Kabuto was saying, and that Orochimaru recognized him and Sasuke of being some type of reincarnation or symbolism of the old owners?

Kabuto became silent. "I'm sorry. It's just that... seeing you... it's kind of weird and kind of cool at the same time."

"That's okay," Naruto responded.

Kabuto stood up. "It was nice meeting you. If you don't mind, I would like to stop by the house someday, just to take one last look around before I leave."

"Leave?"

"Yeah, I'm transferring schools. Now that Orochimaru isn't around anymore... there's no real reason for me to stay either. See ya around."

With that, the young man was gone, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts. 

When lunch time rolled around, Naruto went to a nearby park, bought himself a hotdog and sat down on a bench, enjoying his small meal. He was surprised to find a familiar person sitting down next to him.

"Hyuuga?" he asked.

"Hyuuga? I thought we agreed on you calling me Neji."

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Neji, then. What are you doing here?"

"I like the fresh air every now and then. Plus I get to watch people other than the rats running through their mazes back at the offices. Company is usually better, too."

Naruto smiled, although inside he felt that small shudder of disgust. Was Neji flirting with him? Was this really his nature? He surely wasn't serious, considering he knew about him and Sasuke.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked. 

"Having lunch with my uncle. He's doing an impressive job in securing his position. I find it best to not be in the way. My uncle is leaving me in charge once he retires, but he also doesn't trust my choices in hired help. So I do what I've been doing with Sasuke. I introduce them, then I step back and urge them to do the rest. They usually win my uncle's approval. Smart men. And a couple women."

Naruto nodded, feeling somewhat bored about the corporate world. 

"So tell me," Neji started, patting Naruto on the knee.

"Naruto!"

Both men looked up to see Kakashi running towards them, a scarf wrapped across the bottom of his face.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, wondering how loud the man must have yelled to be heard.

"Excuse me, Neji," Naruto said, standing up an heading over to meet Kakashi.

"We'll see each other again," Neji said, as he too stood up and walked the other way.

"Kakashi! I heard you had an emergency."

"Yeah. About that. I have to head out of state. There was still some time before my flight left so I wanted to get with you before I'm gone. I stopped by the library and they told me you were on lunch. Deductive reasoning had me guessing you'd be here."

"Smart man. If you want to follow me to the rec's parking lot, my surprise for you is waiting there."

Naruto swore he heard Kakashi giggle, which made him grin in delight. He was glad that there was someone who seemed excited about the findings in the house. At least it made him feel better as oppose to the weirdness Kabuto talked to, or the lack of interest that Sasuke had. 

"So how long will you be gone?"

"If I'm lucky, three weeks."

"That long?"

Kakashi nodded.

Although Naruto felt a bit sad that he was already losing a potential friend, he was excited over what he was about to present to the man.

When they got to Sasuke's car, the first things that Naruto handed over were the sketches. He watched as Kakashi held them as if they were the most precious and fragile things in existence. "These are beautiful," the man murmured. "To think I have Sai Utamaki's actual work, and of Rey Hatake to boot."

Naruto was really grinning by this point. "If that makes you excited, then you'll go gaga over this."

Naruto pulled out the two journals. 

"I found these, but they are locked. I'm hoping that maybe you have an idea of how we can open these without damaging them."

Kakashi looked stunned. "Uh... yeah... yes! Yes, of course!"

Kakashi sat down the drawings and began patting all his pockets, pulling out a small case. "The file cabinets in the library are always getting locked and someone always forgets to return the keys. I've gotten pretty adept at picking all sorts of locks, including these types."

Kakashi began to pick Kushina's diary, and after a few seconds, both of them heard a click. With trembling fingers, Kakashi opened the lock all the way and opened the journal itself. Taking a brief glance, both saw that the first words written were:

_Dear Diary,  
My maiden name is Kushina Hatake, and like my brother Rey, I wish to record my story for those left behind. This is the first time I have ever written down words like this, expressing what I am feeling, seeing, or hearing. But knowing that my brother does this almost religiously, I want to do this and be more like him._

Naruto held out his hands and Kakashi reluctantly placed it back in his hands. Naruto gave him a large smile. "Since both of us are interested in the lives of the Utamakis and the Hatakes, and since you'll be gone for a while, I think it's fair to trust you with Rey's journal while you're gone."

Kakashi stared at the journal as Naruto placed it in his hands.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Please be sure to call me if you learn anything interesting," Naruto said. "And when you get back, we'll swap. Sound's good?"

"Yes, of course! Thank you!"

Kakashi had to leave shortly after that. Naruto headed back to the library to finish up his volunteering shift, having gained a clear head to be able to make his next reading moment with some after school activity children enjoyable.

When he was done, he made a few stops to pick up some decorations for the ball room. He also stopped by one of the small grocery shops, utilizing the cooler Sasuke had in the trunk to hold any cold foods. Being free to drive made him feel so much better, and he hoped that Sasuke would make time for them to look for a car together.

The trip back home did seem a bit long though, and during the last few minutes, Naruto felt himself nodding off. Trudging up the steps of the house, Naruto wondered how Sasuke managed to make it safely to the house each day. He quickly put away the groceries, and then brought in the supplies. He set them down inside the ballroom, which was completed before schedule. He then went out to the car one more time to bring in Kushina's diary.

He stared at it as he walked back inside. 

He forced himself to be patient as he made himself a small supper. He then took a quick shower and got ready for bed. Picking up the journal, he made his way to his bedside, with the intention of reading it until Sasuke came home, or he fell asleep, whichever came first.

But as he opened the diary, a movement in front of him caught his attention. Eyes snapped up towards the wardrobe in the room, one that had mirrored doors. Naruto's heart leapt into his throat as he saw a hazy form of a woman appear in the mirror and raise an arm. And then everything went black.

XXX

Sasuke took another shot, relishing the burn down his throat. Guilt plagued him once again as he thought of Naruto. Ever since he laid eyes on him he wanted him, and he stopped at nothing to gain the attention and affection of the man. He even acted out in ways he originally thought himself incapable of doing. But ever since the comment Naruto had made about losing his friends... the guilt became a little heavier.

He knew his actions alienated the exuberant man. But he couldn't help himself. Naruto's friends were a threat. Especially since they had grown up with him and knew the true Naruto. But like a parasite, he wormed his way into Naruto's life and refused to let go. 

His attention was caught by one of the servers. He remained aloof as she took his order and flirted with him. He tried to recall if she was someone he had spoken to before. She answered his question when she finally sat next to him and asked, "Why haven't you called me?"

Sasuke looked at her coldly. "I'm busy. And I have a wife."

"So? We can still meet up and have some fun."

Sasuke shook his head. 

"No."

"But last week..."

"If you want to blow me again, that's fine. But that's as far as we'll ever go."

"Bastard!"

Sasuke shrugged and poured himself another shot. He sipped at it this time, picturing Naruto in his mind. The episode of sleepwalking scared him, and he could only hope that it was a one time thing. As much as he wanted Naruto to stay with him, he wasn't sure if he was capable of handling a person having a mental breakdown.

His concerns flew out the window as he felt his zipper being lowered. Sasuke smirked. Stupid whores. If they wanted to get down on a dirty floor and suck him off, he wasn't going to stop them. After all, that was where gold diggers belonged, on the floor on hands and knees, acting like true bitches. Let them try to sway him from his "wife" by giving him damn good blow jobs. Truth was, he would never leave Naruto's side unless it was a matter of life or death. Naruto was like his sun god, an idol, a trophy. He was placed high above any of these bitches, his body belonging solely to Sasuke to worship. 

As he became hard in the woman's mouth, Sasuke began to fantasize how he was going to bring Naruto to the brink of pleasure when he got home. As well as to try to think of a way to go back on his word on getting Naruto a car. After all, it wouldn't do for Naruto to suddenly have a means to leave him should he feel the need at the spur of the moment.

tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Naruto and Sasuke seem to know something is wrong but neither one is mentioning it. And then the day of the party is here. Naruto plays the part well. But Neji's intentions are also made very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just borrowing the characters for fun. :) If you are reading this first today, know that I uploaded a total of three chapters so go back to Chapter 4.

**The Portrait From the Attic  
Chapter 6**

Sasuke was feeling horny once again by the time he got back home and at least this time he was coherent on his surroundings. After what happened the last time he got home wasted, he really didn't want to risk the chance of scaring Naruto into leaving him. The faint sting of the healing scratches against both his back and chest were enough to keep him from completely getting drunk. The house was dark except for the one window near the top, making him frown. He was pretty sure that was the attic window, and Naruto had been spending a lot of time up there. Did he forget to turn the light off before going to sleep?

Sasuke stumbled into the house and made his was down the hallway, sneering at the painting in the hallway. Even though he knew there was no legit reason, Sasuke hated the painting. He didn't mind the sketch since it looked so much like Naruto, minus the scars on his cheeks, but the painting... it bothered him. He never mentioned it to Naruto, but whenever he looked into the supposed Sai's eyes, he felt like he was being drawn into a dark hidden world.

He stumbled his way up the stairs, stopping by his room just to see if Naruto was sleeping. He frowned when he saw that the room was empty. So he made his way to the stairs that would lead to the attic, trying to figure out why Naruto would be up there.

Arriving to the top, he stopped and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The attic was somewhat in shambles and Naruto was just sitting there on the floor, holding two garments in each hand. Despite his unstable view, Sasuke could make out that Naruto looked confused and lost.

"Naru?" he called out.

Naruto looked up at him.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto looked back down at the garments. "Making... costumes?"

"Why?"

"I... for the party?"

Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Come to bed," Sasuke finally said, reaching out with one hand towards Naruto. 

Naruto grabbed his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. He silently followed Sasuke to their bedroom, looking around, his expression clearly stating that he wasn't sure where he was.

Sasuke helped Naruto change, sobering up as the time went on, realizing that Naruto was not himself. Maybe being alone for long periods of time was bad for his blond. But his fear that Naruto would just up and leave weighed heavily in his heart as he tried to change his mind once more and vow to follow through with his promise and buy a car for Naruto.

Laying down next to Naruto, he watched him as the other man fell asleep. Even then, he continued watching until his eyes began to burn for the need to sleep. His eyes were almost shut closed when a passing shadow caught his attention. His eyes snapped open for a moment and he could have sworn he saw a black mass swim in front of his eyes, following the contour of Naruto's cheek. He sat up and looked around but didn't see anything that would have caused that. Shaking his head, Sasuke settled back down and moved closer to Naruto. He shortly fell asleep, his arm draped around Naruto's waist. He woke up briefly an hour later to a sharp stinging sensation on his arm. Rubbing at it, he looked around and saw nothing. Giving a huff, he settled back down and tried to fall asleep for a third time. He didn't notice the welts that rose in four straight lines on his skin.

X

The days went quickly for Sasuke and Naruto as the day of the party drew near. Because of the decorating, Naruto didn't have time to read Kushina's diary except for a few pages. From those pages he was able to understand that Kushina was just recently married to Sai when she began writing in her diary. It was almost like a cheesy romance, reading how she adored and worshiped the ground that Sai walked in. She spoke of how much of a gentle lover he was, how she loved it when he held her in his arms. How he was always so cold to people, but in the privacy of their house, his actions proved just how passionate he was. Several times she mentioned her brother, and how he seemed to be the only male friend Sai had. There seemed to be a touch of concern in what she wrote, wondering why Sai rarely sought the company of other gentlemen outside of work. She couldn't understand why he wasn't lonely for friends. Although at the same time she herself didn't seem lonely. She always had the company of her brother and of Sai. And due to her health, she would sleep for long periods of time. 

But Naruto still wanted to keep reading, hoping for a deeper insight and understanding of the woman in the portrait.

He was a bit concerned of the sudden plague of blackouts he was suffering, and wondered if he should see a doctor. The times varied, but unlike before, they sometimes went longer and when he came too, Naruto discovered that he had done something during that time, or would be somewhere in the house with no recollection of how he got there. But he did his best to keep that a secret from Sasuke. He didn't want to worry him, especially as he seemed to get more stressed out as the company party drew near.

Meanwhile, Sasuke found himself keeping a close eye on Naruto. The night he had found him on the ground holding two outfits was alarming, although no where near as frightening as the time he had watched Naruto sleepwalk into the dense grass area and stop breathing for no apparent reason. And the blackouts seemed to have gotten worse. He wasn't sure if Naruto was aware of them, or if he was, did he even suspect that Sasuke was aware of them? He had watched as Naruto blank out and clean a room for almost half an hour before Naruto moved into another room and started having a conversation with an imaginary person. Shortly after than, he would move to another room, stand still for a bit, and then look around, completely confused. A couple times Sasuke approached him during this stage to ask if anything was wrong. Naruto would just smile at him and say that he lost track of time. 

Sasuke wasn't sure what he should do. Concern for Naruto's well being had him coming home straight after work several times. But the blackouts and the skittish nature that Naruto was developing also stressed him to the point of not wanting to go home. Sasuke found himself drinking more heavily on the days he stayed in town which also resulted in him staying at a hotel a few times. He would call home thinking that Naruto would really get on his case and would sometimes not get an answer or get a busy signal. When he finally got home, Naruto acted like he didn't even notice that Sasuke never made it home, which was both a relief and an annoyance to Sasuke.

But one thing he promised himself was that he would start looking for doctors after the party. Sasuke couldn't risk that the black outs were associated with some type of brain tumor or some mental health issue. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle that.

He only hoped that Naruto wouldn't suffer through a blackout during the party.

X

Naruto felt nervous as he looked at the calendar. The party was for tomorrow night, and although the room looked fabulous, he was afraid something would go wrong. He thought back to the past few days as he prepared some of the cold cuts, trying to get as much of the food preparation out of the way so that he would only have to worry about the hot foods the next day. He hadn't suffered, as far as he knew, a blackout at all this day, but he was positive he kept seeing someone standing in his peripheral vision almost all day long. Sometimes it looked male, and sometimes female. The figure would flitter in and out of sight, depending on where he was in the house. 

But he refused to tell Sasuke, afraid of what the man might say to him. It was bad enough after the yard incident and the attic incident, he really didn't need to add that he was seeing things on a daily basis. Nor was he brave enough to tell Sasuke that some nights were a complete blur to him. There were at least a couple nights that he swore Sasuke did not come home, but at the same time his body felt the phantom touches he usually had after a night of gentle love making from Sasuke. Which if Sasuke was not home, it would be impossible for his body to have those phantom memories, unless it was only an extremely vivid memory.

Plus he was fairly certain that although he did not see Sasuke, he felt a presence behind him in the bed. On those nights, Naruto felt like he couldn't move, and while the first night had him scared, just feeling Sasuke behind him put him at ease. He would fall asleep and wake up the next day, Sasuke already gone. Or at least that is what he can assume. Although for some reason Sasuke seemed to go to work in the same clothes that he wore the day before on those nights. Unless he never came home. And then Naruto was left to question who was he feeling instead of Sasuke. And that thought process made his head hurt and he refused to think too much about it, preferring to believe that Sasuke just wanted to minimize laundry by wearing the same outfit a couple times a week.

On top of that, Naruto was a bit hurt that he hadn't heard a single word from Kakashi. Even though he didn't have time to read Kushina's diary, he was hoping that he would at least get a call from the eccentric man and listen to things that he had read from Rey's journal. 

That night Sasuke came home early to help him finish minor details.

"I called several times," Sasuke stated, sounding a bit annoyed.

Naruto frowned. "But I didn't hear the phone go off."

"Yeah, well, it's happened a couple times this week and I think I figured out why."

"Oh?"

"You've disconnected the base phone."

"What?"

"The phone wire wasn't in the jack, you dumb ass. You're just lucky there hasn't been an emergency."

"But..." Naruto was confused. "But I never go near the base phone during the day! I'm always using the other handsets or the corded phone in the kitchen."

"Whatever. Just make sure you don't leave it unconnected again."

Naruto nodded, glancing up as he tried to remember when he might have accidentally disconnected the main phone line. 

Despite that minor argument, the rest of the evening went smoothly, and Sasuke treated him gently in bed, filling the room with sounds of kissing, and soft pants and moans.

"Thanks for agreeing to dress as a girl for me," Sasuke murmured to him after they had sex.

Naruto only let out a muffled sound in response, his body still slightly shaking from his orgasm. When Sasuke was gentle with him, he felt nothing but exquisite pleasure and he was usually unable to form a coherent thought. He turned his head to face Sasuke, his face serious but flushed. "Anything to help you," he said.

Sasuke gave him a small smile and brushed his fingers across Naruto's cheek. Naruto closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Sasuke frowned and turned onto his back. He knew he was being unfair, but he couldn't help it. He would do what needed to be done to advance his career and make it easier to maintain Naruto by his side.

He gave a quick start when he thought he saw dark eyes staring at him from above. Rubbing his eyes with one hand he looked up at the ceiling again and could only make out spots that faded as his eyes adjusted. Frowning to himself again, Sasuke pulled up the covers, turned to his side, and closed his eyes.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were unaware of Naruto's hair briefly moving as if a gentle breeze swept through the tightly enclosed room.

X

Sasuke glared at the image in front of him. The coat fit fine, but he wasn't too thrilled about looking like the man in the portrait. It wasn't until that morning did Sasuke realize he hadn't bothered looking for a costume for the party.

Naruto told him that if he was dressing up as a girl in olden times, then he might as well match and really look like a couple. 

Sasuke debated if he should slick his hair down or leave it like he normally wore it. Then he decided that with the eye mask he would be wearing it really didn't matter. He ran his fingers through his hair and ruffled it a bit more in agitation. If he had to wear the stupid outfit, he wasn't going to look completely like that old bastard. 

"Naruto, are you done yet?" he called out, glancing at his watch and seeing that there was only an hour before the party officially started.

The food was all done and lined up buffet style to one side of the ball room, chairs lined on the other side with a few round tables. The floor was waxed and polished to look shiny but to not be slippery.

"Yes, dear," came a soft voice from nearby.

Sasuke turned to look and spotted a blushing woman staring at him. 

"N...Naruto?"

"Do I look bad?" Naruto asked, feeling very self conscious about his appearance.

"Uh... No..." Sasuke actually looked stunned.

Naruto glanced at himself through the reflection of the window, feeling a small sense of deja vu as he saw the reflection of his uncertain blue eyes watching him back. The wig fit perfectly and it was slightly messy, making it look even more natural. His lips shimmered with pink lip gloss and his face looked like there was no makeup on except for the faint trace of blush. The dress that he made fit perfectly, and whatever he sewed into the bodice made him look like he had small but shapely breasts, a thin waist, and hips that gave him a curve.

He looked like a nervous lady in waiting, not quite a princess but still regal looking.

Sasuke forgot all about his earlier grumblings and went to Naruto. He smiled gently and held out his hands. "You look pretty. I'm sure you'll be making a lot of real women jealous."

Naruto sighed. "That's not what I really want to do."

"I know, dobe. But Neji's uncle will be delighted and I'll be able to move further up in the company if the party goes well."

"But how long will I have to play the part?"

"Only until he croaks. He's on so much medication and shouldn't be incredibly long."

"Oh yeah? He'll probably live another ten years. And then I'm sure the subject of children will come up. How will you explain why we haven't had children during those long years?"

"Well, you're sick. Too weak to have kids. You don't seem to get better. If he really does take that long and starts asking questions, I'll figure something out."

Naruto pouted and Sasuke leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. 

"Relax. Things will turn out well. You'll see."

X

The party itself quickly picked up pace as everyone arrived. One thing was for certain, Sasuke's colleagues were all punctual people. The music was provided by a dj one of Sasuke's supervisors hired. The food was quickly disappearing and everyone commented "Nikki's" excellent cooking skills.

Naruto nodded and gave them small smiles, grateful that the mask he wore his the marks on his cheeks really well. He danced several times with Sasuke, and felt slightly put out when Sasuke handed him over to some of Sasuke's male colleagues. 

Naruto would use his "sickliness" as an excuse to cut some of the dances short -- Neji being the only one that he danced with the entire song -- and the few times he made his way to the sidelines, he would find himself swamped with ladies all wanting to know how "she" landed a guy like Sasuke, or to complain about their husbands and wanting dirt to prove that Sasuke was not as perfect as he seemed.

Naruto watched the time carefully, planning on making his breakaway.

He timed it well enough that he was retreating just when it felt as if his feet were going to fall off from wearing high heels.

Naruto softly spoke out, saying how she regretted that she had to retire because she was too worn out, and asked her guests to continue enjoying themselves. Sasuke offered to help "her" out but Naruto refused, stating that Sasuke needed to attend to his guests.

"You're starting to ham it up," Sasuke murmured with a playful smirk on his face.

Naruto just smiled back at him.

"Once again, thank you," Sasuke then murmured, giving Naruto a kiss on the cheek in front of just about everyone. "You know... you make me feel pretty horny knowing that you'd wear anything for me."

Naruto genuinely blushed. "Pervert," he whispered back and left the room as Sasuke turned back to the party.

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the door, feeling really tired. He walked down the hallway and into the living room. From there he walked to the hallway on the other side, stopping briefly to look up at the portrait that he and Sasuke resembled at the moment. With a small smile, he made his way upstairs to where their room was, planning on changing to his "Rey" costume after resting his feet for a bit.

As he unzipped the back of his dress, the sound of their bedroom door opening startled him.

X

Neji watched with calculating eyes as "Nikki" made her apologies about leaving the party prematurely. Sasuke stood by her side, acting like a dutiful and loving husband. Naruto was playing the part so well that even he almost forgot he wasn't dancing with a real woman. 

Neji briefly thought back to the first time he met Naruto. He had only made the visit to see just what kind of person would go out with Sasuke. The man was a great business man but Neji had a hard time believing that Sasuke could care for anyone. That or whoever was dating him was a really suave gold digger. Depending on who the person turned out to be, Neji would plan his next move. He really expected the person to be a ditz or another cold person. To his surprise, Naruto was a very outspoken once he got over his initial shyness with strangers, and was very fun to talk to. Or at least listen to. It was at the table while they were having dinner that first time that Neji was struck with a very vivid fantasy. 

Hearing him laugh and seeing his face flushed with merriment, Neji wondered how Naruto's face would look like flushed with lust and pleasure. It took extreme self control not to grab the blond man, throw him on the dining room table, and have his way with him. He was left wondering how did Sasuke land someone like Naruto?

And now seeing that Naruto actually dressed up a girl to help Sasuke out, Neji realized he had to have him. Not necessarily as his own lover, but just to enjoy him from time to time. He knew of Sasuke's exploits in the clubs when he stayed behind, and he wondered if Naruto was ignorant of them or just didn't care. He could only hope that Naruto didn't care and therefore would be more receptive to extra company, but something about Naruto said otherwise. To be honest, Naruto didn't strike him as either gay or bi, which intrigued him even more. And so he silently moved forward to follow Naruto as he left the ballroom, his heart beating fast in his chest. If he played his cards right, he was going to do a most sinful thing.

The thought of fucking Naruto underneath Sasuke's roof during his hosted party made his blood boil in excitement.

X

Naruto stared in amazement at the figure in his doorway. "Neji?"

"Simply amazing," Neji murmured, as he closed the door behind him.

Naruto felt alarmed by the motion, and he felt like he was going to be in danger. 

"Um, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. "This is Sasuke's and my bedroom."

"I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, privately." Neji stepped forward. 

"About what?" Naruto asked, tugging at one of the wig's curls, wanting to take it off but at the same time feeling weird about being left in a dress with short hair. 

"Just how amazing you are."

"Uh, thanks?"

"No, I'm serious. Here you are, forced to stay in this house except for the rare times you are allowed out to volunteer, waiting for Sasuke to come back from everything that he does... And even though you're not completely aware of what Sasuke is doing or where he is in his career, you do everything possible to help him. I mean, I can't believe that you actually dressed up to play the part of a wife. I mean, I know I suggested it, but I was joking. Of course, most people don't know when I'm joking, or so I'm told, but... I thought he wouldn't actually ask that of you. Especially after I got a chance to meet you. You acted the part well, but now that I'm standing here with you, along... you're not comfortable at all in a dress, are you?"

"No," Naruto admitted, calming down a bit. 

"You didn't strike me as the type. Hell, to be honest, I still have trouble believing that you're bisexual. But then I have to wonder how the hell did you manage to ensnare such a cold person such as Sasuke."

"Sasuke isn't cold," Naruto said, defensively. "He's just... He just doesn't trust that many people. He has no close family ties, and neither do I. So we're just... connected. And he really does need me."

"And do you need him?"

Naruto felt his suspicion growing again. "What do you mean?"

"Just curious. So tell me, Naruto...Are you still feeling lonely here?"

"Well, yeah..."

Neji stepped forward again, this time towering over Naruto, reaching up and grasping his chin. "How far will you go to help Sasuke achieve his goals?"

Naruto felt his heart beat increase in speed again. While Neji was a very handsome man, it wasn't lust that caused his heart to race, it was fear. Naruto grabbed Neji's wrist. "Whatever I can do, within reason," Naruto stated, trying not to let his voice shake.

Neji smirked. "Why don't we take care of two birds with one stone? Let us keep each other company in bed and I'll boost Sasuke all the way to the top, all without letting him know anything."

"What?! No!"

Neji scowled and this time pulled Naruto against him, pinning his arms against Neji's chest.

"I hope you're not misunderstanding. Me boosting Sasuke up the corporate ladder is just payment to make up for the inconvenience. Otherwise I'll push him all the way down and out. Something tells me you won't be too happy if he's unhappy."

"Are you seriously trying to blackmail me?" Naruto asked furiously as he tried to push Neji away.

"If it makes you see things my way," Neji stated. He quickly let go and Naruto lost his balance, falling back down on the bed. 

Before he could react, Neji dropped down on top of him, pulling the dress down enough to keep Naruto from having full use of his arms.

"Get off!" Naruto cried out, kicking out with his legs. To his frustration, the dress tangled up in his legs and Neji was able to pin him down almost effortlessly. "Neji, get off! Sasuke will kill you!"

"Not if he doesn't find out," Neji growled out, an evil grin on his face. Neji trapped both of Naruto's wrists and pinned them down. He lowered his face to Naruto's exposed neck line and began to kiss and nip the blond man's neck.

"Stop, you bastard!"

"Scream all you want. I doubt you'll be heard with the party going down there. But if the music stops and someone does hear you... well... it would expose your secret if anyone comes to investigate. Do you really want the whole company to know that Sasuke is living with a drag queen?"

Naruto stopped fighting as the words registered in his brain. His eyes welled up with tears of frustration. 

"Good boy."

Neji captured Naruto's lips with his own, his hunger very clear. Naruto didn't respond but just lay there, shaking in impotent anger. He felt like gagging, feeling repulsed that this man was touching him. He rebelled once more.

"No, I can't!" Naruto shouted, jerking his head to one side and trying to push Neji off.

Neji's eyes flashed with anger. "Fine. If you want it rough, then so be it."

Naruto shut his eyes and suddenly the weight was gone. Opening his eyes in a flash, Naruto watched as Neji flew across the room and slammed into the wall hard enough to knock a picture off of it. Naruto slid off the bed and looked around. Neji sat up, his face contorted in pain. 

"I didn't think I pushed that hard!" Naruto cried out, frightened at the unusual amount of strength he had used.

Neji looked up at him, and a look of sheer disbelief and terror crossed his face.

Naruto turned around and swore he saw someone in the room with them. He would have thought it to be Sasuke if it weren't for the fact that the person shimmered and disappeared, a sense of killing intent filling the room. Neji slowly stood up and looked at Naruto. 

He was suddenly thrown up against the wall one more time and held up for a couple seconds before being released.

Naruto cried out in alarm as he watched Neji slump to the ground. The long haired man scrambled back up to his feet, eyes wide in fear.

Both of them spun around as the sound of the bedroom door opening, and both froze as Sasuke entered the room.

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke doesn't believe, or would rather not believe, Naruto and what Naruto is experiencing is getting worse. Kakashi begins reading his ancestor's diary, and the story does not seem like it will be a good one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters of Naruto do not belong to me.

**The Portrait from the Attic  
Chapter 7**

Sasuke glanced as his watch and then at the door, wondering how long Naruto was going to wait before returning to the party as himself. Excusing himself from the group of people that were surrounding him, he told them that he was going to check on his wife and then return. He smiled with pride as the Hiashi Hyuuga complimented his pretty "wife". A few others agreed with him and joked that they would probably leave their wives if "Nikki" had arrived alone and available.

Sasuke frowned as he exited the ballroom. On his way out, he had noticed that Neji Hyuuga was not in sight. He couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it, so he hurried up the steps. Just as he got to his bedroom door, he heard a loud thump. Sasuke froze for a second and then pushed the door open. What he saw him baffled his mind and he tried to make out what he was seeing. Naruto was standing, holding the dress he was wearing up with one dress, shoulder's bare, and wig askew. Naruto's back was to him and the blond man had turned to look at Sasuke with fear in his eyes.

Across the room, Neji was scrambling up from the floor, his eyes looking wild in terror. The man was looking all over the room before his eyes landed on him, and then Neji composed himself, still looking frightened but smoothing down his clothes.

"Evening, Uchiha," he said.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Sasuke asked, confusion giving way to rage. Seeing Naruto half dressed with some other guy in the room opened to door to so many possible situations, and none of them good. But knowing Naruto, he knew that him cheating was like 1% to none. Unless alcohol or drugs were involved. Plus the way Naruto was holding up his clothes... Neji was somehow the instigator, and boss or no boss, Sasuke wanted to kill the man.

"Nothing," Hyuuga responded, glancing around the room one more time. "Just a misunderstanding." Naruto walked past Naruto, nodding his head once to him and saying in a nervous voice, "My apologies. I won't bring it up again."

As he walked past Sasuke, he was stopped by a tight grip on his arm. Neji stared into Sasuke's eyes as the other man glared at him. No words were shared and Neji was let go. 

The room was silent for a bit after Neji walked out.

Naruto finally spoke.

"Sasuke?"

"Just what was he doing in here, with you, alone?"

"He followed me... said he wanted to talk about something."

"And were you just going to change in front of him?" Sasuke asked, moving toward Naruto and motioning to his state of undress.

"No, I..."

"What happened." The question sounded more like a demand.

"He... he tried to..." Naruto stumbled over the words, embarrassed beyond belief of what he was trying to say. "He wanted to..."

"Touch you?" Sasuke finished for him.

"Yeah," Naruto whispered, dejectedly.

"You should have kicked him out."

"I didn't know that was what he was planning when he came in!"

"I warned you about being alone with him! Just to never let it happen! Your stupid fault he tried to take advantage over the fact that you were up here by yourself! Although I guess its a good thing you were able to push him away from you or something. Did you kick him?"

"No! It was like someone yanked him away from me!"

"What?!"

The fear that Naruto had felt when he watched Neji hang in the air without anything holding him returned.

"He just hit the wall twice and was hanging there for a couple seconds before being dropped..."

"Are you on drugs?"

"What? No!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he were crazy. "I think you should just stay here. Forget coming back to the party as yourself."

"But... but Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned around and walked out the room.

Naruto stumbled to the door as he heard a click. He tried the handle and realized that Sasuke had locked him in from outside. The thought of being trapped alone in the room with whatever attacked Neji scared the shit out of him. "Don't leave me in here!" Naruto pleaded, hitting the door. After a few minutes of calling out to Sasuke, he realized that the man wasn't going to come back to let him out. Naruto moved away from the door and quickly finished undressing, tears of frustration threatening to fall from his eyes. He put on his lounge pants and looked around the room, making sure the lights in the bathroom, ceiling, floor lamp, and table lamp were all on. He got into the bed and picked up Kushina's diary. Maybe he would be able to distract himself by reading it.

X

Sasuke was smiling politely as he made his way back to the ballroom. He danced with a few ladies, all married and just wanting to dance, and chatted with his colleagues and supervisors. He even managed to politely speak with both Hyuugas at the same time, Neji still looking somewhat pale but composed. Despite the calm exterior, Sasuke was slowly boiling over. He wanted to tear the man apart for laying his hands on what belonged to him. And at the same time he wanted to go upstairs and claim Naruto. But he knew if he did that, he would probably hurt the blonde to the point of screaming and draw attention. So he tried to calm himself down and wait till after the party. And then he would go in stages were he didn't even want to touch Naruto, thinking about how Naruto's body was almost defiled and the thought of someone else touching his body disgusted Sasuke. Maybe he would just make sure Naruto took several showers before touching him again.

When he glanced at the doorway that led out of the ballroom, he was somewhat startled to see what looked like Naruto in the dress standing by the door. But then it was gone and Sasuke decided that he wasn't going to actually drink anymore alcoholic beverages for the rest of the night.

X

_Dear Diary,_

_I feel both happy and sad. Each time we make love, its always so gentle. But my love for Sai is so grand that it just makes me want to be so wickedly wild with him. But he always forces me to submit to his pace, pleasure so great that it's almost torture. And the way he holds me... I can't help but feel his grand affection. But why isn't it enough? He is so sweet. But I can only suppose that it is an animalistic passion I crave. I know that loving my husband's body is my duty as a wife, and that carnal pleasures by itself is a sin... but is it a sin to lust after my husband's body so? That is the only way I can describe this burning sensation in the bottom of my body and soul... a desire so abnormally large that I can't help but wonder if it is a sin worthy of hell._

_And I find myself becoming jealous of Rey. While Sai gives me gentle smiles, the look he gives my brother makes it seem as if he has a closer connection. I get so mad that I find myself hating the sound of Rey's name falling from Sai's lips. Even though Rey is unaware, I can see some of the moments he and Sai share. Rey has very little tolerance for Sai, and that angers me more. My beloved wastes his time paying attention to someone like Rey. If only he spent more time paying attention to me, then I'm sure I would be happier._

_But cursed heart, I feel so guilty thinking that way, too. Rey is my only family, and he is my life as well. Without him, I would not exist. Sai's love would not be enough. He is my only family that shares my blood._

_I can only hope that my heart will soon be soothed._

Naruto closed the book, perplexed. Kushina was slowly turning into a lunatic, and he was somewhat saddened, knowing that this wasn't a fictional piece of work but an autobiography in the most truest form. Her entries had all been entertainingly borderline smutty, and then the last few entries were somewhat melancholy. 

He did, however, feel somewhat connected to her. They were the same yet completely different. Both felt trapped, her by her love and lust for Sai, him from Sasuke's utter emotional dependence. She craved Sai's touches, Naruto craved Sasuke's respect. They both felt lonely, her from not spending enough time with Sai, his from not having anyone else but Sasuke.

Naruto glanced at the phone by his bedside and wondered once more why Kakashi Hatake hadn't tried contacting him. Maybe the emergency that sent him out was really bad.

Naruto set the diary down, seeing that he was a little more than halfway through. He hoped that Kakashi was at least getting a lot more information from Rey. If anything, other than her love of Sai, Kushina was a rather private person, even with her own journal. She talked a little bit about her feelings, and only events that made her feel loved. She only spoke of Rey and never mentioned her family or of her past. It was as if she only lived for the day, for that hour, or that moment.

The sound of the music from downstairs had already faded, and Naruto could only assume that Sasuke was waiting on people as they left. He decided to take a quick shower to get ready for bed. When he stepped into the running water, he did his best to clear his thoughts and let them run with the warm water. Just as the thoughts of Kushina's written passages, and the memory of Neji being thrown, were fading away, Naruto thought he felt something cold run up his back instead of down.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he turned around.

There was nothing with him and he could feel the water sliding down his body. Feeling slightly shaky, Naruto stepped back under the running water and tried to finish rinsing himself off. His heart was pounding as he mentally told himself that it was just in his imagination, that whatever had pulled Neji off of him was gone and wasn't going to hurt him.

He then felt the cold feeling run up his inner thigh.

Naruto stared down between his legs. Despite the warm water, his left leg had goosebumps on his thigh. But once again, there was nothing there. Then he felt that cold feeling again. His eyes widened as he felt the feeling go back up his other leg, much more slower than before. The water rolled down and flowed around the area of his leg that felt like it was being touched. 

Naruto shut the valve and stumbled back, shaking. He watched in horror as the shower curtain began to raise up as if a wind were blowing from inside the room. The air felt heavy and Naruto felt as if he couldn't breath. The shower curtain grazed his body. Naruto let out a cry and pushed the curtain aside, scrambling to get out of the tub. The curtain seemed to meld around his lower body, tripping him up. Naruto crashed to the floor and the oppressive feeling was gone, leaving him gasping for air as he lay on the cold floor.

Naruto pushed himself up off the floor, yanked the towel from the hook, wrapped it around his body and ran out of the bathroom. He stopped and turned to look back, panting and shivering.

Naruto let out a yelp as the bedroom door swung open.

Sasuke stood there with a key in his hand, giving him a weird look.

"Now what are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked as he closed the door.

"The bathroom! Something grabbed me!" Naruto stated, pointing at the room.

Sasuke looked towards the bathroom. He looked back at Naruto, an eyebrow raised. "All I see is a mess. Maybe you're just flashbacking to whatever it is that Neji did to you. Don't leave yourself open like that again, you stupid idiot. I'm going to take a shower. Dry up. I don't want your wet hair on my pillows."

Naruto stood there flabbergasted as Sasuke went into the bathroom without any hesitation.

Could he have been over reacting? But the curtain moved towards him! Then again, there was a vent in the bathroom. Could the air have just kicked in strong enough to make the curtain rise like that? But what about the feeling of something going up his legs and back? He really couldn't think of any explanation for that one.

Shivering, Naruto dried himself off and put on his pajamas. He crawled back into the bed and waited for Sasuke to get out.

Several minutes later, Sasuke also got out of the shower, toweling off his hair. Naruto looked away, slightly embarrassed at seeing Sasuke completely nude and bathed in all lights of the room. Sasuke turned off the bathroom light and made his way to the dresser. Sasuke put on just a simple set of boxer and made his way around the room, turning off the lights. He left the one on his bedside on for last, getting into the bed without a word.

Naruto couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Sasuke?"

"Go to sleep, Naruto," came Sasuke's annoyed voice, as he turned to his side, back towards Naruto.

"But Sasuke?" Naruto whispered.

"Dobe, I'm tired. If you want to stay here, shut the fuck up. Or I'm locking you out of this room."

The thought of being completely alone again terrified Naruto to the core.

"Goodnight," he whispered, and lay there with his eyes open, staring up into the ceiling.

Soon he could hear Sasuke's even breathing, signifying that he had fallen asleep. Naruto couldn't help but feel lonely once more. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. But then he began to feel a heavy pressure against his body again. Eyes opening, he panicked when he saw what looked like a black mass above him. It wasn't solid, it was almost as if it was thick smoke. But he couldn't move. His hands and legs felt like they were pinned to the bed, and he couldn't work his jaw to call out to Sasuke. He felt something slowly sliding up his legs. Naruto could only gasp softly as he felt that something brush past his crotch, and the pressure seemed to intensify and just stay there. He felt what seemed like someone's hands run up and down his side and across his chest.

Tears poured out of Naruto's eyes. He felt like there was someone on top of him. It was almost as if it were Sasuke during the times he was treated gently. He could feel the pressure inching across his chest and throat areas. And it felt like his nipples were being tugged and pinched. And then, for a few moments, he couldn't breathe as that pressure made it's way over his mouth. Then it was gone.

Naruto cried out and sat up, flinging the covers off of him and jumping out of the bed. 

Sasuke woke up as well, turning on the light and turning around to look at Naruto.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he called out, groggily and angrily.

"Something was touching me!" Naruto cried out. "I couldn't move and it was all over me!" 

"God, dammit!" Sasuke cursed. "You were probably having some waking nightmare from what Neji probably tried to do to you. Just how far did that bastard get anyway?"

Naruto shook his head feverently. "No, it wasn't a nightmare. I haven't fallen asleep yet!"

"Listen, you crazy bastard, I want to sleep and if you're gonna keep waking me up, get the hell out of the room."

"But Sasuke!"

Sasuke got out of the bed and marched his way around towards Naruto.

Naruto looked up at him in fear as Sasuke grabbed one of his arms and began to haul him around and towards the door.

"What are you doing?!"

"Getting you out of my room."

"No! Sasuke, please! I don't want to be alone!"

"Tough shit. I'm still angry at you for letting Neji have a shot at you! And now you're just keeping me awake?" Sasuke continued to drag Naruto out of the room and down the hall, towards Naruto's old room.

Naruto knew he was about to pull a dirty underhanded trick but he really didn't want to go into another room by himself.

"Sasuke, don't you dare kick me out or I swear I'll leave, tonight if I have to!"

Sasuke whirled around and grabbed Naruto from the back of his neck, pulling him forward and mashed their lips together. Naruto slightly struggled, caught completely off guard at the possessive kiss that Sasuke was forcing upon him. Sasuke pulled back and glared at Naruto. "No, you won't," he said, and proceeded to push Naruto into the room.

Naruto stumbled down to the ground, stunned. He snapped out of it when he heard the door shut, followed by a click. 

"Sasuke, no!" Naruto quickly got to his feet and rushed to the door. The bastard had locked him in again! Naruto banged on the door, terrified. "Sasuke, please! Let me out! I'll be quiet, just please! Don't leave me the fuck alone! You hear me? Sasuke? Sasuke!!" Naruto called out pleadingly for almost ten minutes before he gave up. Being alone with no one to watch him, Naruto allowed himself to break down in tears. 

"Fuck you, Sasuke," he said softly. "Why are you always doing shit like this to me?" Naruto went to the bed and pulled off the blankets. He wrapped them around himself and made his way to the small recliner that was in the corner of the room. He sat in it and huddled up into a little ball. He trembled and silently prayed to any deity that could help him that he be left alone while asking himself why he stayed with the Uchiha.

The man was hot one minute and cold the next. Naruto just wasn't sure how long he could keep trying to keep Sasuke happy.

It was almost dawn when Naruto finally fell asleep.

X

Sasuke glanced upstairs as he finished making breakfast. He had unlocked the door to Naruto's room earlier in the morning, and was a bit disturbed to see that Naruto had fallen asleep in the chair instead of the bed. And while he did feel a bit bad for locking him in the room a second time that night, Sasuke wasn't regretting that he was able to sleep well without Naruto around to throw a fit. He thought back to the night before and frowned. 

He had assumed that Naruto had thrown off Neji, judging by the state that the long haired pansy was in. But Naruto had claimed that something had pulled Neji off of him. And then he claimed that he was touched, once in the bathroom, and then while in bed. If he took Naruto's words seriously, it would imply that maybe something mystical or supernatural was going on. But shit like that always had an explanation and Sasuke refused to believe in ghosts. However, that meant that Naruto was losing his grip on reality, and that scared Sasuke more. 

If Naruto were to become crazy, Sasuke would have to do some serious thinking. Naruto would be unable to play the role of Nikki, and Sasuke was not mentally equipped to take care of someone full time. He would have to hire outside help. But that also meant trusting some stranger to take care of Naruto. That would be strangers who would be left alone with Naruto and completely free to take advantage of him while Sasuke was out of the house.

Sasuke shook his head at the thought. No, he would manage somehow. He turned off the stove and put the food on a tray. Carefully balancing it, he made his way upstairs and into Naruto's room.

Naruto was just opening his eyes as Sasuke set the tray on the side table.

"Morning," Sasuke muttered, gently pulling the blankets away from Naruto.

Blue eyes filled with confusion looked up at him.

"Brought you breakfast," Sasuke said, as a peace offering.

Naruto stretched out and rubbed his eyes. "Why?" he asked, groggily.

"Partially to apologize. Mostly because I felt you needed to stay in bed for a bit. You did have some weird nervous breakdown last night, remember?"

Naruto froze as the memories slammed into him. He wanted to argue that what he saw and felt weren't some hallucination due to a nervous breakdown, but what if it was? If he were going crazy, what would Sasuke do to him.

"Oh... yeah," he responded instead, and accepted the food offering.

Sasuke picked up the tray and placed it on Naruto's lap, and moved the side table in front of Naruto and sat down on it. He had served a lot of food on the plate, expecting to help Naruto finish it off. As Naruto ate, he remained silent. Sasuke couldn't help but observe the blond man, doing his best not to pounce the guy. Naruto looked so fuckable, sitting there looking lost and confused. No one to turn to except for him, Sasuke made up his mind to find a way to accommodate Naruto if he was going mental on him. He could pad up one of the rooms and add bars and safety glass to the windows. He could find a way to turn one of his other rooms into an office and set up a networking system so that he could do his work at home instead of the company office. 

Naruto picked at his food, eating a little bit nut not nearly as much as Sasuke did. When he set the fork down, Sasuke picked up the tray and stood up. 

"Get dressed," he said softly. 

Sasuke left the room and headed downstairs to put away the tray and clean up the dishes he used. As he walked up the stairs to check on Naruto, he could hear the kitchen phone ringing. Sasuke frowned and looked around. He was pretty sure there was a phone both in the hallway where the stair case started up just upstairs where the staircase ended. Yet he couldn't hear either phone ringing. He made his way to the upper phone, annoyed. Chances were that the main base was disconnected again. When he got to the top he peered under the table. Sure enough, the phone chord was unplugged. Sometimes these cordless phones and their base sets were more of an inconvenience than anything. He reached under and plugged it in. The phone rang once and then fell silent.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, seeing that the number didn't register. He turned back to go to Naruto's room. When he got there, he paused. Naruto wasn't in the room anymore. A soft sound coming out of his room caught his attention and he journeyed down the hall. Stepping into his room, he stopped short.

Naruto was wearing one of the dresses Sasuke had ordered to wear out to town should they ever need to head out together. How he had found it, he wasn't sure. Naruto was also wearing a wig, the same color as the one last night but a different style. More simple.

"Sweetheart?" Naruto called out to him, softly. "Can we go into town today? It's so quiet here. And I want to show off the new dress you bought me."

"Uh..." Sasuke lost the ability to put a coherent sentence together. While Naruto did look stunning in his costume the previous night, his mannerisms were drastically different than what he was seeing now. Naruto's eyes looked blank, but he was smiling and moving like a shy person. Almost like those annoying women at the bars when they were trying to get his attention. 

The smile on Naruto's face faded as he slowly pulled off the wig. Then, almost robotically, he took off the dress and walked to the dresser that had some of his clothes and began to change. 

This alone was strange to Sasuke. Even though they had been together for so long, Naruto always partially hid himself while changing. In fact, he preferred the room to be dark when they had sex. It embarrassed him to no end to be naked in front of Sasuke in broad daylight or in a room that was brightly lit.

Naruto finished changing and proceeded to walk past Sasuke.

Sasuke reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's arm.

Naruto violently withdrew, his eyes snapping onto Sasuke in terror. He huddled against the wall.

"Naruto?"

"Please, sir... this isn't right," Naruto stated, a tremor in his voice.

"Naruto, what is it?" Sasuke felt his own heart beating fast, even thought his face didn't show his alarm.

Naruto shook his head and slid out of the room, walking fast towards the stairs.

He stopped at the very first stop and turned to look at Sasuke.

This time his face was full of confusion.

"Is the phone ringing?" he asked, pointing down the stairs. The faint sound of the kitchen phone ringing could be heard.

"What?" Baffled by the sudden change in behavior and tone in Naruto's voice, Sasuke could only react in a semi normal behavior. He glanced at the main base at the side of the stairs and saw that once again the wire was not connected.

X

Kakashi sighed as he hung up the phone in the hotel's waiting room. He moved aside and allowed the person behind him to use the phone. 

His grandfather had taken a turn for the worse. It seemed the blood transfusions that the family had participated in was not enough. The three weeks that the doctors had estimated would be an ideal recovery time now became an unknown timeline of impending death.

But he was a bit concerned about what was going on back home. He had read most of Rey's journal, and he was also concerned about the articles that he had read. His grandfather, knowing of Kakashi's insatiable thirst for historic knowledge, told him where to find some articles that revealed a shameful secret of the Hatake's past.

"I've been to that house a couple times," his grandfather had whispered to him during one of his visit. "When you told me the tenant had died somewhat peacefully, I was glad. But now there are two young men and a girl living there? Are you certain? History can repeat itself. Help them if you can."

Kakashi wasn't too sure what the old man was talking about, until he read the articles. But even then, just what did his grandfather expect him to help the young couple and brother-in-law with? Or could it be that they were living the same secret life as Utamaki and Hatake?

He glanced at the journal in his hand.

He flipped through the book, rereading specific dates that he had come to memorize.

_July 21_

_I have arrived at the Utamaki estate and have met Mr. Sai Utamaki. My family has sent me here to become his apprentice and learn his trade. To be quite honest, the thought of becoming a lawyer bores me, but it is for my family and I must do what I must do, especially since I'm the eldest son. But I fear for my sanity as Sai is a dreadfully cold person. If he sees no point in conversing with me outside of business talk, I will go mad from the silence. Wretched, wretched man! I pity the foolish woman that agrees to become his wife._

_September 9_

_Mr. Utamaki is an actor, a dreadfully good actor. While he stares at me with his cold eyes, offering few compliments but plenty of criticism, he treats clients with respect and amicable behavior. But having lived with Mr. Sai, I can now see the most tiny of nuances of his fake feelings. He may have a charming smile that makes men loosen their lips and women swoon, but I now know that inwardly he probably despises them all. The eyes are but a window to one's soul and I see no trace of humanity in Mr. Sai, even when he is smiling._

_October 1_

_I am most confused. Sai, as he claims he would like me to address him as, has been treating me differently as of late. I gave no thought of it until today, as I was left feeling almost dirty. It started with a few pats to my head and shoulder, but recently Sai has began rubbing my back when he leans over me to study my work. While I have no problem with proximity to my closest of friends, Sai is not one. He is my mentor and, although I loathe to say it, my master. His cold eyes seem more piercing than ever, and I feel like I am being scrutinized. I imagine the feeling I have is what a poor insect must feel when a child looms over it with a magnifying glass. I want to go home, back to my family. But I am not allowed. My family has paid for two years of this torture. And it has only been three months! God, please keep an eye on me. I need all the strength to survive this and Sai's odd behavior._

_November 15_

_He cornered me again as I was coming down the stairs. The foul and vile man. He laughed at how uncomfortable I was and had the gall to state that as my master it was his right to do as he pleased. Then he genuinely smiled at me. It shocked me to the core. I thought he was incapable of such a feeling. 'You make me a better person,' he told me. And I was left feeling confused again at the time. How can one hate a person when he himself feels that you make him better? Oh, but if he would only stop moving in so close to me. I feel like a wingless bird trying to walk past a playful cat, purring away but with deadly claws ready to be unsheathed._

_December 6_

_I was kissed._

_December 7_

_Sai's touches are dangerous. I am scared. It is wrong and even though I shudder at the thought of the man holding me and treating me like some girl, once I am within his grasp I cannot help but give in to his kisses. He claims that my masculine beauty is something that should be cherished. But I know it is a sin! Is this my punishment for not being firm and demanding that he allow me to visit the church every Sunday as I did prior to becoming his apprentice?_

_January 1_

_May my soul be spared from hell. I have participated in a grave sin and I do not know what to do. I am alone, with no one but him, and the painful and filthy evidence of what has transpired during last evening._

Rey's own words were startling and alarming enough by this point, and Kakashi could only feel a deep sorrow for his distant relative as he thought of the later entries. 

Kakashi told himself that he would try calling Naruto again. It frustrated him that he never seemed to get through. The phone would either ring without being answered, or it would ring busy. It was almost as if something was keeping him from contacting Naruto.

The person got off the phone and Kakashi moved to it to try calling Naruto's house again.

Right before he dialed, his cousin Rin came running in. "He's suffering a heart failure!" she wailed, gaining the attention of the Hatake family.

Concern and grief overrode Kakashi's mind as he hung up the phone and hurried to join his family.

Four days later, Kakashi was told he was chosen to get his grandfather's remaining affairs in order; final bills that the insurance money will cover, funeral arrangements, and when life support was to be shut off. The journal, the news articles, and Naruto, were temporarily forgotten.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke confronts Neji. A fight between Naruto and Sasuke. A devastating experience for Naruto. And Sasuke comes face to face with his estranged brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naruto characters not mine.

**The Portrait from the Attic  
Chapter 8**

Sasuke filed all his paperwork as efficiently as always, giving a quick call to all his supervisors to let them know where certain files were located. He answered a few calls, none of them personal, which made him look like the workaholic he was. All the while, he was planning on how to corner Neji and have a chat with him. To be honest, he would have been happy never crossing paths with the man ever again, but Naruto had been progressively getting worse and he needed to know what Neji had done or said to him. If things were worse that what Naruto had claimed, he wasn't sure what he would do but he would do something.

Sasuke glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost time for Neji to head out. Being one of the supervisors, Neji usually had the earliest shift. His uncle took the later shifts, unable to get up early and preferring to deal with making sure everything was done rather than started.

Sasuke picked up the one file that he could have just forwarded to Neji but opted to personally hand it to him. He walked to Neji's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard the man say.

Trying to hold back a smirk of arrogant confidence, Sasuke stepped in. He watched as Neji finished up the phone call he was on and turn to look at him, eyes widening in surprise.

"Uh... Uchiha," the man said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. 

"Mr. Hyuuga." Sasuke's response was cool. He closed the door to the office and walked to Neji's desk, placing the folder on it. "May we talk about something, Hyuuga?"

"I suggest you make an appointment..."

"It really won't take long, sir. Of course, I suppose I could go to your uncle but..."

"My uncle knows," Neji spat out.

It was Sasuke's turn to be surprised. "Pardon?"

"I'm transferring to my cousin's branch. So if it's about business, you really should make an appointment and talk to whoever is taking over from me."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why the sudden transfer? What did you tell your uncle?"

"Just that I tried getting intimate with 'your wife.' I blamed alcohol and I said that I was embarrassed by my behavior and thought it prudent to distance myself."

Well, this was going a bit easier that what Sasuke thought it would, but it still didn't answer his questions. 

"Just what did happen between you and Naruto?" Sasuke asked, becoming more suspicious.

"Nothing. At least nothing that would have left him damaged," Neji responded. He gathered some paper work on his desk and arranged it into a small stack. His eyes shifted to one side of Sasuke and then he quickly looked back down. "I did push him around and threaten him, I'll admit. But he refused either way. And then..."

"Then what?"

"Nothing. You came in. End of story."

Sasuke felt frustrated. "No, something else happened. What was it?"

"I said nothing else," Neji repeated, looking irritated. "Now if you don't mind, I am going home. May I suggest thought, that you don't leave Naruto alone for too long."

"Why would you care?"

Neji looked at him. "You haven't seen it, have you?" he asked.

Sasuke stared at him. 

"Then there's not point talking to you about it."

Neji walked past Sasuke and out the door, leaving Sasuke fuming in solitude. Neji continued down the hall, walking further away from the man who owned the blond he had wanted. Glancing back he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise as he observed a shadowy figure stand by his office door. It wavered for a bit and then disappeared. He turned away and continued walking, hoping that once he left the area he would no longer be plagued by the mysterious figure. At the same time he could only hope that both Sasuke and Naruto would be okay in that house. Despite his earlier intentions, he wouldn't wish that supernatural visitor on anyone.

X

With trembling hands, Naruto continued looking at Kushina's diary, trying to ignore the movement he kept seeing in the corner of his eyes, almost as if something was coaxing him into trying to look at it directly. To be honest, he wasn't too fond of continuing the diary, but it was the only thing he had at hand to distract him. Not to mention, he almost felt obligated to finish it. He trembled as he felt the spot next to him on the sofa dip, but he did his best to ignore it. He also avoiding looking at the clock, not wanting to know how long he had left till Sasuke came home. Not that it really mattered. As each day passed by, Sasuke grew more and more sullen, snapping easily. But he was still company and Naruto didn't feel as scared. He just wished Sasuke believed him when he commented that he kept seeing things.

A few times he could have sworn Sasuke saw something too, judging by how he stiffened when looking in the same direction as Naruto, but then he acted like he had seen nothing. It was driving Naruto mad. If Sasuke refused to acknowledge he had scene such stuff, then how was Naruto suppose to be certain that he wasn't imagining things?

Naruto focused on the page in front of him and did his best to get lost in it. 

_April 24_

_Dear Diary,_

_Everything is so wrong. I was jealous of the my brother for a long time, but it has been confirmed that I was the fool. I was never really loved. I am just a novelty -- A doll to dress up and treat so daintily. No, that's not completely true. I was jealous of Rey because he is real compared to me. Everything about him is his true self. I am nothing like him at all. I watch him live his life, ignoring the pain that he goes through. But I can no longer ignore it because whatever affects him affects me as well. I can feel his pain and my love for Sai can no longer hold back that pain. My husband truly is a wretched man. I feel it more sitting in this room, looking at his wretched hobby. I wonder why he started with taxidermy. All those innocent animals. They do their part in providing us food, but why should they exist forever as decoration on his walls? Their eyes make my nerves quiver. My brother grows desperate, and I know of his plans. His apprenticeship is far from over, but his need to escape is great. It won't be long now. And even though I would like to stay with Sai, wherever Rey goes, I must follow. With my duty torn between the two, I can only hope for the best._

_May 6_

_Dear Diary,_

_My heart aches. Once again I am left without a doubt of whom Sai truly desires. I had some reason for my jealously, but at the same time, undeserved. Rey use to be such a happy person. The unwanted attention Sai has been given on him is breaking him. But he is too scared to take matters into his own hand. Maybe I should do something for him. Without me, nothing will tie him to this place. Tonight will be my last night on this earth. I will make sure that my end will be beautiful. I will dress in my best gown so that I may be nothing but a pretty flower floating in the water. Rey will be free._

_May 11_

_Dear Diary,_

_I failed, that is obvious. Sai found me in time and nursed me back to health. These past few days Sai has treated us both so kindly. Back when I first found myself married with Sai, I would have found his tender care incredibly endearing. At this time, however, I find myself hating the man as poor Rey is confused. I know what he feels. He feels so alone and abandoned with no one but Sai to care for him. Despite the fact that I could not exist without Rey, in reverse it is not true. Rey could certainly live without me. I tried to help Rey. It now depends all on Rey himself. He needs to leave Sai and begin his life anew._

_June 17_

_Dear Diary,_

_I have seen evidence of Rey preparing for his escape. He is being clever. He prepares each time Sai is involved with clients. But I wonder if Sai suspects something, as he has been cancelling time with his clients under the pretense of spending time with either me or Rey. It makes Rey nervous. And although I mourn I have to hope that Rey saves himself. Little by little his soul is being destroyed. I am proof of that._

_June 25_

_Dear Diary,_

_Tonight is the night. Sai is suppose to spending time with some new clients. A dinner party. Rey is staying here to finish some paper work. He will start working on that, and once Sai leaves, I'm sure Rey will finally break free of it, leaving me behind to fade away. But that is okay. I am resolved to do the right thing. My love for Rey is stronger than Sai._

Naruto sighed and flipped over to the next page. It was blank, as well as the rest of the book. Naruto felt as if his heart was broken. Something had happened to the Hatake siblings, and it seemed that Kushina met her end. But what of Rey? It was pretty obvious from Kushina's side that Sai had showed unwanted attention towards her brother. He hoped that Kakashi would be back soon so that he could find out Rey's side of things.

Naruto set the book down and stood up to stretch. As he raised his arms over his head, he felt something run up both sides of his ribs. Naruto dropped both arm and stumbled back into the chair he was sitting in. He tried to stand up and felt something push him back, pinning him down. "Help me, someone help me," he whispered as he felt a strange pressure building in his groin. He looked down in horror. There was no mistaking the feeling he was having. It felt similar to when Sasuke gave him a blow job, only cold. His breath caught in the back of the throat, unable to believe what he was feeling. And to his mortification, his body was reacting. Naruto could only gasp as the pressure continued moving in rhythm up and down his elongating shaft. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his body trembled and that familiar ache began to build.

"Stop, please stop," he whispered as the movement seemed to increase in speed. 

"Sai, stop!" Naruto pleaded with a whimper, taking a chance as to whom the ghost or spirit was. 

The pressure stopped for a moment, and then Naruto found himself unable to breathe as he heard "Say my name again," whispered into his ears.

The pressure started up again and Naruto could only gasp. Moments later, Naruto shuddered as the front of his pants became dark and moist.

Then the weight and pressure was gone, leaving Naruto free to move and breathe.

X

Sasuke stepped into the hallway, feeling wiped out. With Neji gone from the company, his paperwork increased as his position rose once more. Work was almost nonstop. However, back at home, Naruto was also wearing him out with the constant vigilance. Not only were those black outs increasing, but Naruto had started jumping at almost every little thing, swearing that something was watching him or touching him. It was getting on Sasuke's nerves. He had started researching psychiatric doctors, but he didn't trust any of them. He wanted to make sure that whichever doctor he hired wasn't going to take Naruto away to have him committed. 

He looked up at the drawing in the hallway, scowling in displeasure. Lately, in his blackouts, Naruto would murmur the names of these people, sometimes speaking out in sentences as if he were speaking to one of them. And he still hated the picture when he looked at it. As time progressed, the more Naruto paid attention to the damn portrait, the more he hated it. Sometimes he wanted to rip the damn thing off the wall and burn it. He especially hated the haughty look on Sai's face. Every time he looked upon it, he couldn't stand it, and he didn't know why.

Then there were the weird shadows he would sometimes catch a glimpse of. It unnerved him, but he couldn't be sure if it was all in his head. Which if that was the case, he would force himself to ignore it. He couldn't also be going crazy. If he did, then he and Naruto would definitely be separated. It would be best to act as if he didn't see it, and convince Naruto that nothing was there. Or try to be emotionally supportive. But that was a bit harder. Not because it wasn't Sasuke's nature, not true at all, for he had been able to make Naruto stay by his side. It was harder because the only time Sasuke tried, Naruto latched on to him asking him if he believed him. Sasuke didn't want to feed both their belief of something crazy going on. He needed to be firm. He needed to be solid. 

A scraping sound was heard from upstairs, followed by a thump and a cry of terror. Sasuke froze as he looked towards the staircase.

X

Kakashi wiped his eyes as he made his reservations. In three days time he would be flying back to his hometown. Everything was taken care of. And when he got back home, he knew he would have to make time to speak with Naruto about the things he learned, from both Rey's journal, and his grandfather's newsclippings.

X

Sasuke snapped out of his paralysis as Naruto came running down the stairs, eyes wide in terror.

"What is going on?" Sasuke demanded, catching Naruto by the arms.

"He's everywhere! He's touching me! Everywhere I go he's lurking in the corner waiting for me!" Naruto babbled on, hysterical.

Sasuke sighed and gritted his teeth. "Naruto, it's only in your head. Nothing is up there. Whatever you think you're seeing or feeling is not real."

"No, no, no... it is! Please, believe me!"

Sasuke was tempted to acknowledge that he thought he had seen something, but glancing at the portrait and the way Mr. Sai Utamaki seemed to be taunting him with a faint smile angered Sasuke. "Snap out of it! There is no one here to touch you. And no danger of it anymore. Neji is going away. What he almost did to you will be a thing of the past..."

"Neji? Who gives a rat's ass about Neji?! Sai! Sai's ghost is here! He's the one that I've been seeing, I'm sure of it! He's everywhere!"

Sasuke realized he was wrong about his hatred of the portrait. His temper flared even more as he thought about how much he loathed the thing. "There are no such things as ghosts! It's in your head!"

"No it's not!" Naruto's hysteria turned to anger and frustration, almost rivaling Sasuke's. 

"Look, I should have let you go out a bit more often. You're surrounded by nothing but pictures of Sai and these other two, it's no wonder you're coming up with some weird ass imaginary friends..."

"Friends?! He's touching me in ways I don't want to be touched!"

"Touching you?" Sasuke's tone dropped into icy levels. Was Naruto fantasizing about someone else touching him and trying to deny it by claiming that it was a ghost? That was unacceptable. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I can feel his damn cold fingers or something!"

"I'm talking about not wanting to be touched."

"What?" Naruto stared at him in hurt confusion. "I... I don't like it. It's scary, Sasuke. I'm being touched by something I can't see and I don't like it."

"So if you could see it, you would like it?"

"Wh... what?! No! Sasuke, are you even listening to me? There is something in this house!!"

"Is there really?" A sudden thought crossed Sasuke's mind... something that would make all of this easier to explain. "Or are you just seeking my attention?" Sasuke lunged forward, pinning Naruto to the wall. 

Naruto stared up at him with wide blue eyes. "Huh?"

"You're trying to make me jealous of a nonexistent ghost. It's cute, but annoying. You have no need for that."

"I'm not..." Naruto's voice was silenced by Sasuke trapping his lips and giving him a hungry filled kiss. "Mmph!"

Sasuke pulled away, lust filling his eyes. "You didn't have to go that far." 

"No... I wasn't... ngh!"

Sasuke's hand reached into his pants.

"You're already sticky and wet. Did you have a pleasant dream?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Was it of me? Or of Sai," Sasuke spat out, suddenly feeling angry again. Maybe Naruto wasn't trying to get his attention.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whimpered as Sasuke expertly handled him. His body reacted faster to the warmth than the cold feeling that had happened in his room. Sasuke caught his mouth again, and with impatient hands began to yank Naruto's clothes off of him.

"Sasuke, not here," Naruto pleaded as Sasuke pushed him to the ground. Naruto's eyes wandered up to the portrait, and he shuddered at the sight. Sai's face, despite the faint smirk, looked like he was seething in quiet anger. "Sasuke, please not here."

"It's my fucking house," Sasuke growled, before attacking Naruto's neck, nipping it and intentionally leaving bruises. "I can do it wherever I want to."

"No, not in front of them!"

Sasuke stopped and looked at Naruto, momentarily confused. He then followed Naruto's line of sight and saw that he was looking up at the portrait.

"Son of a bitch! I should have never let you put that on the fucking wall!"

Sasuke scrambled up and grabbed one of the flower vases that Naruto had started keeping on the table by the stairs. 

"Sasuke? Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Sasuke hurled the vase at the painting, sending pieces shattering and water cascading down the surface.

"Sasuke, what have you done?!" Naruto cried, seeing the paint on Kushina begin to run. He scrambled up as well and grabbed at Sasuke, only to be thrown against the ground. Sasuke's eyes glared down at him, and Naruto felt fear. The look could only be described as murderous. 

Sasuke mounted himself on top of Naruto's stomach, one hand going to Naruto's throat and giving him a threatening squeeze. 

"It's nothing but a fucking painting! A painting of some people that died long ago! There's no reason for you to be fantasizing about them, not while you're living in the present with me!"

Sasuke captured Naruto's lips once more as the rest of his clothing was torn off.

As Sasuke's lips moved to Naruto's neck, Naruto glanced at the painting once more. While the color of Kushina's hair and dress began to trickle down the wooden canvas, the face stayed somewhat untouched. Water dripped down as if they were tears.

Naruto hissed as he felt Sasuke shove a dry finger into him, a hurtful way of preparing him. Despite his fear of earlier, Naruto tried to block out what was going to happen. He didn't want to believe that Sasuke would force him again after promising not to hurt him not too long ago. Of course, when Sasuke was sober and Naruto was not in the mood for it, Sasuke would still manage to make him cum. And even though the thought of his body reaching pleasure sounded wonderful, Naruto had to admit that he could do without the sex, rough or gentle. A possessive Sasuke left him extremely sore the following day. A gentle Sasuke left his body overly sensitive. But it seemed to be the only way Sasuke could express his love for him, although Naruto wished there were another way. In fact, the only time Naruto felt any sort of comfort and peace was when Sasuke just held him, no sex needed.

Much too soon, Sasuke added a second and third finger, trying to widen Naruto's hole much too fast. And just as quickly, he thrust himself into Naruto, causing the blond man to cry out, his body already quaking in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Sasuke pounded into him, the slapping sounds of their flesh echoing in the hallway. Teeth continued to bite into tan flesh, marking territory. Naruto whimpered in pain and cried out when his body trembled in physical pleasure. Naruto came spurting first between the two, followed closely by Sasuke as he spilled deep into him. Naruto's eyes rolled back and he passed out, his body worn out from his pounding heart, overworked from fear, anger, and then sexually physical stimulation.

Sasuke breathed heavily as he came down from his rush of possessing the blond. He lay on top of the man, closing his eyes for a moment as he recalled when he first had taken Naruto, back in college. He opened his eyes and pulled up from him. Settling on his side, Sasuke ran his fingers down Naruto's face, tracing his jawline and then his lips. Then he glanced up at the portrait of Sai and his wife. Sasuke could have sworn that the damn thing was glaring at him. But he didn't care. Not really. Well, maybe just a bit. Actually, he felt himself getting pissed again when he realized that only the paint on the woman was running. Sai was untouched.

Sasuke stood up and picked up Naruto, carrying him into the living room and placed him on the couch. Grabbing a throw that was folded over the back part of the couch, he unfolded it and placed it over Naruto. He then went to the wine cabinet and poured himself a cup of brandy from a bottle that was pushed to the very back. He drank one full glass before pouring himself another. He stepped back into the hallway and looked at the portrait.

"Fantasy or not," Sasuke muttered. "You can't have him. Ever since he found you that's all he's ever thought about. What you guys did, who you were... no more. You're nothing but a damn painting of dead people. You have no reason to be in anyone's thoughts now. But here's a toast to you, either way." Sasuke threw back his head and chugged down the alcohol. He threw the empty cup on the ground.

Then he realized just how bad the painting was bubbling off the surface on the painting. Even though he hated it, Naruto did have some strange attachment to the thing. After what had transpired, he knew he needed to get it fixed or Naruto really was going to blow a gasket once he's had a chance to process everything that happened.

"Mother fucker, even now you cause me nothing but trouble," Sasuke swore softly as he reached up and yanked the portrait down, dropping it. It clattered, and the corner of the frame shattered. "Shit!" 

He wrestled the painting out of the hallway and toward the front door. One of Hyuuga's clients was a curator at an art museum. Surely he would know someone who could take care of this painting. 

Sasuke managed to get it into his car without damaging the frame any further. And he took a perverse delight in slamming the hood over Sai's smug face.

Then he went back into the house and got dressed.

As he came out of his room, he paused in surprise at the sight of Naruto at the top of stairs, staring down. A suitcase was in his hand and he was wearing an old fashioned looking coat. Naruto turned his head to look back at him and a look of fear crossed his face and he began to run down the stairs.

"Naruto? Wait!" Sasuke ran after him and stopped.

Naruto lay at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled heap.

"Naruto!"

Or at least Sasuke thought he had seen Naruto there.

"Naruto?"

There was nothing there.

Sasuke slowly made his way down the stairs, feeling extremely cold. He looked around, trying to figure out where the draft was coming from. He cautiously headed to the living room.

He was startled to find Naruto sitting up at him, glaring at him, in the same state of undress that he had left him in.

"Naruto?"

"You're just like him. You take without caring about how I feel about it. How he feels about it. You disgusting bastard."

"Excuse me?!" Sasuke stared at Naruto, momentarily stunned. 

"You claim love, but your actions speak of only possession."

"Naruto, this isn't funny at all," Sasuke growled.

"You never took into consideration his... my... feelings. My fears. Isolating me from the world."

"You would have run off," Sasuke hissed. "You would have left me behind and I can't allow that." Sasuke reached for Naruto, feeling his anger increase when the man flinched backwards, no longer looking angry but scared.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's chin tightly. "Stop testing my patience, Naruto. Never question how much I feel for you. I gave up everything dealing with my family to have you by my side, remember?!"

"Sasuke?"

Naruto was looking up at him with confused eyes. "When have I... you know I know how much you... need me. What did I say to make you think otherwise?"

Sasuke let him go and stepped back. "Just go to sleep." It was getting worse. Not only was Naruto switching personalities at random, but now even he was imagining ghastly sights. The split second he thought Naruto was at the base of the stairs made his heart lurch. A thin layer of sweat formed on his brow. 

"What? Why?" Naruto's eyes widened. "The painting!"

Naruto threw off his covering, got up and ran out of the room. Sasuke took a deep breath and marched out as well, grabbing the discarded throw as he went by it.

"What did you do to it?!" Naruto cried out, turning around and hitting Sasuke's chest. "Why did you throw water at it like that?! That has historical value to this house, asshole! How could you! Where is it?"

Naruto's ramblings were caught off by a sharp slap across his face. His hand covered his reddening cheek as he stared at Sasuke in shock.

"Go upstairs and go to sleep," Sasuke stated, gritting his teeth. "I'll go see who can fix the damn painting. But calm the fuck down and go upstairs, understand?" Sasuke then draped the throw over Naruto's shoulders, his eyes steely, jaw clenched, but hands caressing him gently.

Naruto slowly nodded, grasping the throw with both hands. He began to climb up the stairs without a word.

Sasuke watched him go up, then turned and walked out of the house.

X

Naruto waited for a couple hours before he got up from their bed. His body began to tremble in fury at the thought of how Sasuke had forced him to have sex yet again and then slapped him like he was some damn hysterical woman in a soap opera. He wasn't sure if he could take the hot and cold personality of Sasuke any longer. He quickly got dressed in jeans and a shirt before he pulled out one of Sasuke's duffel bags and began stuffing random articles of clothes into it.

"No more," Naruto growled. "I can't handle his mood swings and I can't handle this house. I am out. I don't care where, I don't care how... I am gone!" Naruto zipped up the bag and picked it up. "I never wanted a relationship like this with him," he admitted to himself. He walked quickly to the door and opened it.

The door handle pulled from his hand as the door slammed shut.

Naruto stared at it, feeling the palm of his hands begin to sweat and his throat become dry.

With a trembling hand, Naruto grasped the handle, turned it, and slowly pulled the door open. 

The handle was yanked out of his hand as the door slammed shut once more.

Naruto cried out and stumbled back. Just as he regained his balance, he felt the duffel bag being torn out of his grasp. He watched in horror as the bag sailed across the room, knocking over the bedside's table lamp.

Something hot slammed into him, bringing him down hard into the ground.

Naruto could smell something foul , like rotten eggs, as he tried to fight his unseen attacker. "No! Oh my God, help!" He could hear something chuckling as scorching hot hands ran up and down his sides and chest. "Somebody! Help!" Naruto gasped as another sensation painfully overwhelm his nerves. Sasuke had hurt him. This thing was torturing him. Tears flooded his eyes as he swore he could feel something large and hot entering him. Even though he had wanted to leave him, Naruto could only think of the one person who had been with him these past five years. "Sasuke!! Help me!!"

X

Sasuke nursed his drink, sitting at a booth for once instead of the counter, hiding away from the stupid whores who always sought him out. Despite how bad he felt, his body was still somewhat sated from fucking Naruto, and since he didn't have time to wash up, he really didn't want some girl licking Naruto's essence off of him. He had given the painting to Gai Maito, a horrendously flamboyantly dressed man who was well known in town for his passion of the arts. Sasuke dealt with the man shedding such unmanly tears over the destruction of the painting, asking him if there was a way to fix it. He was somewhat surprised when Gai stopped crying and asked him how did he want if fixed.

"What do you mean?"

"Would you like the original painting restored or do you want the addition restored?"

"What?"

Gai pointed out that the woman was an obvious addition as the paint material was definitely different from the rest of the painting. That was the only reason to explain why only her image was running and not Sai's. Curiosity got the better of Sasuke. "The original," he replied.

"Give me two days. I stake my reputation on it!" Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes as the man gave him a great big smile and a thumbs up.

Instead of heading home, Sasuke decided to hit the bar.

And so there he was, one hour later, well on his way to getting plastered.

Sasuke finished his drink and pushed the empty cup away. He then turned to look for his server and was caught by surprise when someone slid into his booth, directly across from him.

Sasuke wondered if he was drunk to the point of hallucinating.

"I...itachi?"

"Hello, little brother."

"Wh...what are you doing here?"

"Been spying, asking around. Trying to see if you've come to your senses."

Sasuke flushed in anger. "Senses? I'm gay!" he hissed. "I'm programmed that way. It's not some fucking phase I'm going through!"

"I don't mean that."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"The real reason why the family kicked you out, little brother. Naruto. We found out some interesting things. The most important one being... the way you manipulated him to chain him to you. What you did was illegal in so many ways."

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention in the first section... but back when I wrote this... my inspirational music to listen to while writing the chapters were from the delightful instrumental group Midnight Syndicate. The specific album for this story was Dead Matter. It's available in iTunes, as well as a few of my favorite albums. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi pressures Sasuke to hear the truth about Sasuke's relationship with Naruto, and as a result, Sasuke makes another bad decision...

**The Portrait from the Attic  
Chapter 9**

Sasuke felt as if all moisture left his mouth. His hands clenched the table's edge at Itachi's words.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he hissed, feeling like a cornered animal.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. 

"Let's backtrack a bit, Sasuke. Do you really believe the family disowned you because of your preferences?"

Sasuke glared at him. "What else was I suppose to think? I told them that Naruto and I were finally together and they flipped shit."

"Not because of you being gay, little brother. I mean, what about Uncle Orochimaru? The gay pervert that gave you his estate! As long as he did nothing to embarrass the family they wouldn't, and didn't, disown him. Even though they suspected his interests were a lot more unhealthy than normal. As for you, they suspected of that when they noticed how much you followed Naruto around and how often you spoke of him. They just hoped you would move on."

"Move on?"

"I hear you really don't like Naruto to mention his friends. Especially Sakura. Come to think of it, couldn't the relationship the two of them had be classified as that of boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Sasuke glared at his brother. "She was a stupid jealous whore who wanted to have me, and when she realized she was barking up the wrong tree, she tried to punish me by taking Naruto away."

"But didn't those two know each other since before college?"

"She lead Naruto on the entire time. Why the fuck are you bringing her up?"

Itachi waved his hands. "Please forgive me. One of our investigators did spend a lot of time researching her and her relationship with Naruto."

Sasuke felt a chill go down his back. 

He couldn't help but think back to when he first began hanging out with the crew, and how irritated he was with Sakura.

X

_Although his expression showed no change, Sasuke felt his heart beat faster at the sight of the blond man with blue eyes coming his way. Who knew that he would luck out coming to this wretched school and finding the man of his desires. And luck was on his side when he found out that they were dorm mates. Those first few days were heaven, as Sasuke would cautiously catch a peek whenever Naruto was in the shower, or fast asleep with his covers off and his nightshirt riding up._

_Then he introduced Sakura. The stupid pink haired bitch became a nightmare for Sasuke. She hounded him for quite some time despite Sasuke's rejections. Supposedly she was best friends with Naruto, and the man confessed to Sasuke in their dorm one night that he wanted more from her. Sasuke took that opportunity to tell Naruto that if that was the case, he would break up with her. Naruto had been stunned, and hurt. Sasuke spinned a rather believable yarn telling Naruto that he and Sakura had been going out for a few weeks, and that the only reason he hadn't told Naruto was because Sakura had begged him to keep it secret for now. He knew Sakura and Naruto were best friends so he assumed that Sakura would want Naruto to hear it from her first, not him. Naruto tried to play it off that he wasn't hurt. Sakura never really returned his affections. If they wanted to continue dating, he would be supportive. Sasuke just smiled and said that Naruto's friendship was more important to him than Sakura. He would break up with her and she would not know the real reason was because of Naruto. And he asked that Naruto not ask her what was wrong if she acted weird around Sasuke. If she had kept their relationship a secret, she would keep the breakup a secret too. Naruto tried to talk him "out of it," but Sasuke convinced him that it was for the best. The following day, Sasuke approached Sakura and asked to speak in her in private._

_The dumb bitch looked giddy, probably expecting to hear that Sasuke was going to her a chance and take her on a date. Instead he bluntly told her he liked cock and even if she considered a sex change, there was no way he'd date someone as selfish and ugly as her. He also told her that she was blinder then a mole for not noticing someone like Naruto and that she was stupid not to appreciate him. But that all that was going to change. Naruto would belong to him and that he would open Naruto's eyes and make him see what a waste of time it was to pine away for someone like her._

_Sadly, Sasuke realized later on that he could have left the last part out. Sure Sakura was hurt and mortified with his words and thoughts of her. But the moment he mentioned that he would make Naruto belong to him, she gained either a protective or possessive streak over the blond. He didn't know which to call it. Suddenly she was everywhere, always asking Naruto to join her. The looks she gave Sasuke were alternating between glares and wariness._

_It had pissed Sasuke off. But that was okay. In the few days that he had known Naruto, Sasuke had him pegged. His kind heart would be the way Sasuke would ensnare him. Tough shit for all those who waited too long to snatch Naruto up for their own. Sasuke began to plot his moves._

X

"They never were boyfriend and girlfriend," Sasuke hissed.

"Most people thought they were. And most people noticed how your behavior changed shortly afterwards. I believe his friends Kiba and Shikamaru even warned him to be careful around you."

"They were jealous of how close we'd become. They were his friends first, after all," Sasuke waved his hand, dismissing the names. They were all assholes that tried to keep Sasuke and Naruto apart.

X

_Sasuke clenched his hands into fists as he eavesdropped on the group._

_"Seriously, Naru," the dog lover was saying. "He's been acting really weird around you. And I don't think he's playing when he says all that weird stuff about you."_

_Naruto laughed. "Kiba, he's just messin' around. He's not really gay. I mean, he probably just took the cues from you."_

_Shikamaru shook his head. "No, I don't think so. When Kiba messes around with you, he is definitely all talk. But with Sasuke, it feels different. Just be careful around him, okay? I don't think he's all right in the head. Even Sakura started acting weird around him."_

_Naruto looked uncomfortable. "Sakura is just going through some hard times right now. It has nothing to do with Sasuke."_

_Sasuke took that time to make his appearance, feigning a carefree smile._

_"Hey, Sunshine," he said, wrapping an arm around his waist and planting a kiss on Naruto's cheek._

_"Ew! Sasuke!" Naruto pushed at him and Sasuke laughed, letting him go. "So any plans for this weekend?" he asked. "We could always try something different. Maybe a gay strip club and learn some moves to drive ladies wild?"_

_Kiba chuckled nervously. Sasuke knew that the man had made a similar joke once before, but it was something the others expected of him. No matter. He would slowly pick up on the traits of all of Naruto's friends so that when the moment was right, he would make Naruto see that he didn't need them all._

X

"So tell me... when did you guys officially get together? Was it right after the big bash? I heard you left with Naruto under suspicious circumstances."

"He was tired."

"And drunk judging from the amount of alcohol you were giving him."

"He only had four cups. He usually drinks a lot more."

"I also heard you were seen in the company of Gato's gang shortly before hand. Tell me, what were you doing with him?"

Sasuke seethed in anger. Seemed like Itachi knew too much.

X

_"I'm surprised someone like you would even need something like this. Or is it strictly for recreational purposes?" The fat man leered as he exchanged money with a small prescription style bottle._

_Sasuke just glared at him._

_"Wouldn't it be wise to just not to know any intentions?" Sasuke asked in reply._

_Gato shrugged. "Well, if it's for recreational purposes, don't drink too much alcohol, otherwise you'll probably find yourself in unwanted situations. And one should be enough to last a while. Don't take anymore or you may suffer some serious consequences."_

_"Such concern."_

_"Hey, can't risk losing a potential new client and all."_

_Sasuke gripped his recently bought weapon and shoved it into his pocket. "If all goes well, I doubt I'll have to return. But I'll send you a thank you gift."_

_Gato laughed. "Sure you will."_

_Sasuke walked away, heart pounding at the hope that his plan would go well._

X

"He approached me," Sasuke told Itachi.

"That's not what Haku said."

Sasuke internally swore as he recalled their bratty neighbor was the same reason he was able to contact Gato. Why the hell did he betray the confidence placed in him?

"Why would you believe that stoner?"

"He was pretty sober when he confessed. And since you've been away for so long, you probably don't even know. Haku died two years ago from complications due to all the drug misuse. He felt guilty and needed to talk to someone."

"Guilty about what?"

"His involvement in chaining Naruto to you."

"Naruto is with me by choice! He's not chained to me!"

Sasuke struggled to regain control of his emotions. His brother was threatening to unravel everything. Just how much did the man know, and what did he plan to do about it?

"I highly doubt that, Sasuke. Tell me... how did a straight man suddenly become devoted to you, and apparently overnight?"

X

_The party was in full swing and Sasuke gave Naruto a doctored drink, keeping a close eye on him. Afterwards, he kept giving him more alcohol, topping off his cup several times. Despite keeping a close eye, Sasuke had to bring Naruto a new cup three more times since the blond man occasionally downed his drink, determined to not nurse the same cup all night long. And when Naruto began to grind against random people, Sasuke took that as a cue to take Naruto back to the dorms, stating that Naruto was tired._

_He carefully evaded Sakura and Naruto's friends._

_He controlled himself well as Naruto leaned on him and acted rather wantonly._

_"Sasuke, you smell good," Naruto drawled out and chuckled. "I want to smell that good. Maybe Sakura would like me more. And... and you have more muscle! My arms are skinny compared to you. See? Your muscles feel hard!"_

_Sasuke entered the dorm and led Naruto onto his bed._

_"Sasuke... I feel hot."_

_Sasuke felt lust tear through him as he watched a flustered Naruto writhing on the bed, trying to take his shirt off. Sasuke straddled the blond man and began to help him get undressed. Naruto's eyes looked up at him, dazed._

_"Sasuke?"_

_"Just helping, dobe," Sasuke murmured, as he leaned forward to kiss the skin he was exposing._

_Naruto wriggled underneath him. "What are you doing? I'm not a girl!" Naruto's words were somewhat slurred, but his tone seemed amused. He soon began to moan as Sasuke massaged him, testing for sensitivity. He slowly made his way down until he exposed everything that was Naruto. He could see that the blond man was semi hard from the stimulation, and Sasuke's mouth watered._

_He took Naruto into his mouth, relishing in the sharp gasp that Naruto let out._

_"Sasuke?"_

_Sasuke ignored the confused call of his name, focusing on making Naruto feel pleasure. He fingered Naruto's ass, doing his best not to go too fast nor too hard._

_"Sasuke, that... that hurts! Oh!"_

_Sasuke still ignored him, knowing that the drug would probably take full effect shortly. Despite Naruto's muscles clamping down on his finger, Sasuke began to use two fingers. He knew he was set when he felt the muscles loosening and Naruto began to thrust back onto his fingers._

_"Sasuke, make it stop," Naruto whispered._

_Sasuke stole a glance at the blond and saw how flushed and dazed he look. His forehead was beginning to shine with sweat, causing his hair to stick to his neck and shoulders. Sasuke couldn't help but groan as he lowered his head again and continued to suck, lick, and nip Naruto's cock and ball sack as he continued fingering him. He moaned each time he had Naruto deep in his mouth, relishing in the sounds he was forcing out of his toy._

_And when Sasuke felt that Naruto was loose enough, he moved upward and captured Naruto's lips with his own before carefully pushing himself into the blond. The feeling was fantastic, even as Naruto cried out. Sasuke moved slowly, one hand jerking Naruto at the same pace._

_And when Naruto began to gasp and move with him, Sasuke steadied his pace, trying to make the first time as gentle as possible. He watched with satisfaction as Naruto came, but his cock didn't soften._

_"Sasuke, it still burns," Naruto gasped, tears in his eyes._

_And so Sasuke took him again, this time with more force, determined to leave Naruto sore and without a doubt of what transpired between them. The drug lasted almost three hours. During that time, Sasuke took Naruto in whichever position he could maneuver the blond into. He had him on his hands and knees, pounding into his ass, digging his fingers into those tan hips. He had him up against the wall, using leverage to keep his feet from touching the ground so all his weight rested on him. He even had him on his side, one leg draped over his shoulder as Sasuke grinded into his hole. Naruto continued to cum, driven by the drug that still ran through him, until he was dry and nothing more came out, the only evidence being his trembling body. Sasuke had him spooned against him in a sitting position by the time Naruto passed out. Sasuke himself had managed to restrain himself and came in him three times, leaving Naruto's legs, back, and abdomen slathered in semen. Despite the uncomfortable feeling, Sasuke left him like that and laid down on top of him, spooning him._

_He too fell asleep, already planning out what he would say and how he would act depending on Naruto's reactions._

X

"He wasn't completely straight. And it's just me he felt an attraction for," Sasuke stated, crossing his arms, closing his eyes, and turning his face away from his brother. He was probably looking for some type of confession since the evidence was long gone. There was no way he was going to say anything about it. He wasn't stupid. His brother was probably recording this conversation.

"Really, Sasuke? You know, I used to remember the tantrums you threw when you wouldn't get your way. Or the guilt trips you started laying on mom and dad during your teen years. I can't help but wonder if you pulled a convincing act on Naruto as well."

X

_Sasuke kept his breathing even as he felt Naruto wake up with a start. He feigned sleep as Naruto tried to wriggled out from under him, beginning to hyperventilate._

_"Oh my god, oh my god, what have ... what did... why am I?" Sasuke could hear the utter confusion and terror in Naruto's voice, and he almost cracked a smirk when Naruto's loud thought process was interrupted by a hiss of pain._

_Sasuke felt Naruto pull the covers back. "Oh my god."_

_Sasuke took the moment to moan and snuggle against Naruto's side._

_"Sasuke?" Naruto called out, cautious and scared._

_Sasuke opened his eyes and looked up at Naruto. He gave him a gentle smile and sat up, kissing him softly. "You were great," Sasuke said with a throat purr. "I still can't believe you wanted me as badly as I wanted you."_

_He then pulled back and looked into Naruto's horrified face. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "Naruto?" he said softly, a small hitch to his voice._

_"I... wanted you?" Naruto shook his head. "But I'm not... gay."_

_Sasuke pulled back, tears welling in his eyes, gasping for air. "You mean... you used me? Was I some experiment? Or is this some sick joke?" Tears began to cascade down Sasuke's face. "Prove to the world that Sasuke likes dick, is that it?"_

_"What? No! It's just that... I don't remember!"_

_"You don't... oh my god, then you mean I raped you? I thought you were tipsy but not wasted! Why didn't I realize... I took advantage of my best friend... You must hate me!" Sasuke covered his face with his hands as he turned his head downwards._

_Naruto pulled the covered to cover himself. "N...no. If I was drunk and made you think... no. We can get past this... we'll just pretend it never h...happened, okay?" Sasuke grinned behind his hands and then composed himself, looking up at Naruto with saddened eyes._

_"I can't," he whispered. "Naruto, I love you so much... I can't go on pretending we didn't share such a beautiful moment together. How can I? To have what I wanted for so long, only to pretend that it never happened... watching you and knowing that we'll never have it again... Knowing that it wasn't a moment of love... but a moment of drunken lust... I took advantage of you... I can't... I can't live with that knowledge." Sasuke's voice grew quiet and he slowly got out of bed, heading over to his desk._

_"Sasuke?" Naruto tried to stand up but winced and sat back down, wincing a second time. "Sasuke?!"_

_Sasuke had picked up a sharp pair of scissors. He looked back at Naruto, tears still trailing down his cheeks, a sad smile on his face._

_"Don't worry," he said. "If you don't clean yourself up, you can say that I raped you and then in guilt, I killed myself. The tests will prove that it is my DNA on, and in, you. No one will have to know that you came onto me while you were drunk. Everyone will believe that it was all my fault. I just hope this doesn't ruin things with Sakura. Because you really like her, right? You love her. And you'll never love me. So it's better this way."_

_"Sasuke, no!" Naruto managed to leap off the bed as Sasuke held the scissors and attempted to thrust it upwards into his neck. The point actually grazed him as Naruto knocked it out of his hands._

_He mentally cheered, glad that he had guessed right that Naruto's personality would keep him from carrying out his suicide attempt. Worse case scenario, he still would have died a happy man, having been Naruto's first._

_"Naruto, why are you stopping me? Don't be so cruel! I can't live without your love and I can't live knowing that you despise me. Or worse, to live on pretending this never happened! You might be able to, but not me! You are... were... my only friend."_

_"But didn't you date Sakura?"_

_"Only to forget you. She was the next best thing because she was your best friend. But I never did anything with her. So please, let me go," Sasuke whispered, caressing Naruto's terrified face._

_Naruto swallowed hard. "I can't do that, Sasuke," he whispered back. "If I did... lead you on... there has to be a reason for it, right? Maybe I wanted you subconsciously? Right?"_

_Sasuke gave Naruto a hopeful look as he felt his heart sore in victory. Naruto was trying to convince himself that he had equal "fault" in this dilemma._

_"There's only one way to find out," Sasuke whispered._

_"How?"_

_"Let me make love to you, now, while we're both sober. If I can't make you cum, then it's because you both physically, and mentally, reject me. And you have to promise to let me go. After all, it would be downright evil to let me live on after having such false hope."_

_Naruto gulped and slowly nodded. And so Sasuke led him back to his bed, gentle hands gliding over the trembling body. Sasuke worshipped his body again, first by sucking on him gently as he fingered Naruto. And although Naruto initially cried out in pain at being penetrated once more, Sasuke expertly handled him, having memorized most of Naruto's sensitive spots. He moved slowly and steadily, getting Naruto use to the feeling, already hitting Naruto's prostrate dead on after the second thrust. Naruto came unexpectedly, his legs instinctively tightening around Sasuke's body._

_"You really do love me," Sasuke whispered in awe, as he gently kissed Naruto around the face and neck, not bothering to look at Naruto's face. He knew the blond man was probably stunned and ashamed at having experienced an unexpected orgasm, questioning his own self and his preferences, but at the same time glad that "his friend" had no reason to go kill himself. And since Naruto was so selfless..._

_"Promise me that I'll be your one and only..." Sasuke murmured into Naruto's ear._

_"I... I promise."_

_Sasuke grinned victoriously._

X

Sasuke glared at his brother. "I did no such thing. We had sex and we promised each other fidelity."

"Fidelity. Okay then... if you love Naruto so much, what about all the women you've been messing around with? Although to be honest that did surprise me since I thought you were strictly homosexual."

Sasuke let out a bitter chuckle. "I've never fucked around with a woman, or anyone else for that matter."

Itachi shook his head. "I've been watching. I doubt a woman stays under the table for no reason."

"Tch. Those were just blow jobs. It's not the same as having sex with the person you love. Just an added bonus."

Itachi stared at Sasuke. "Explain. I really want to understand your thought process on this, because to me, oral sex is still sex."

Sasuke looked at his brother as if he were stupid. "Sex means being completely intimate, knowing parts of a body that no one else will see or touch. A mouth doesn't qualify because when a person yawns, you can see inside of it. Not very private at all. And all mouths are the same. Teeth, saliva, tongue, and gums. But believe me, I will never sleep with anyone who isn't Naruto. My dick will never see the inside of some cunt, or an ass for that matter. It belongs only to Naruto."

Itachi looked at his brother, saddened by the fact that Sasuke really believed what he said. He tried again, hoping against all hope that his brother wasn't as insane as everyone thought he was and that he would do the right thing and let Naruto go.

"You're going to drive him away. Naruto is like me... he'll see it as a sign of cheating. And then what? He was such a delightful person. You've strangled that light out of him! He may act the same way around you... but he use to have so many friends! Even mother and father liked having him around."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Liar. They talked shit about him. Threatened to disown me if I stayed with him."

"They were trying to scare you away from him because they knew you would be a poison to him! Please, Sasuke! Let him go and seek some help! If he did fall in love with you during your time together, surely he will wait for you to get better!"

Sasuke stood up.

"Fuck you," he said, his voice tight with rage. "I will not let him go. I'd rather we die then be separated."

"Sas...sasuke, wait!"

Itachi watched as his misguided brother stormed out of the bar. He sat down, weary. "Father, mother... forgive me," he whispered. "I don't think he can be saved."

X 

By the time Sasuke got home, his anger had dropped to a level of irritation. Damn his family for trying to come back into his life. Damn his brother for reminding him just how he managed to get Naruto into his arms. But no matter. Even if it wasn't exactly fair, he had what he really wanted.

He rested against the door, remembering the first day with Naruto as his boyfriend, and the first month as well. If he recalled correctly, after waking up that morning and convincing Naruto that his body wanted him, they had sex three more times, one of them being in the shower. Sasuke refused to go out, ordering in, caressing and holding Naruto most of the day, acting all grateful and weepy. He could remember how Naruto started holding him back with shaking hands, his uncertainty clear as well as his resolve to not let Sasuke have a reason to commit suicide. After that first day, Sasuke convinced Naruto to submit to nightly intercourse as proof that Naruto wasn't just saying what Sasuke wanted to hear. And by the end of that week, Sasuke had learned every little thing about Naruto's body that allowed him to play him like a finely tuned instrument. By the end of the month, gentle sex became integrated with animalistic fucking that still caused Naruto to orgasm, even if it was against his will.

But each time Sasuke murmured words of gratitude and love, ignoring the sick look on Naruto's face despite the blond's attempt to look happy and content. But he would repeat the words back each time Sasuke said, it, so it was a ritual, a passive brainwashing that Sasuke worked on daily.

And finally, three months after that, Naruto whispered "I love you," to Sasuke during a rare cuddle time. He had finally convinced the blond that what they had was love. And so Sasuke began to force everyone away from Naruto so that he was dependent solely on him. The only snag was when he informed his family that Naruto was now his lover rather than a friend. They pulled him aside and threatened to disown him if he didn't give Naruto up. But Naruto was what Sasuke wanted more than anything, and so he rejected his own family.

He didn't miss any of them. As long as he had Naruto by his side he was fine. Away from everybody else, they lived as a couple in love. They were in love.

Sasuke made his way upstairs and paused at the sight in front of him. The side table that housed the main phone base was on its side, and the phone was up against the wall. Huddled against the wall was Naruto, still half naked from when Sasuke had left him. 

"Naruto?" Sasuke called out, his voice hitched in fear.

Naruto looked up at him, but his eyes looked like he was staring at something far away.

"Leave me alone, leave me alone," he was whispering, over and over again.

Sasuke approached him carefully, noticing with growing horror the number of scratches on Naruto's skin. He had been rough on Naruto, but he knew that he didn't rake his nails that harsh against the beautiful flesh of his lover. He never would. Bruises, yes, scratches no. Did Naruto do this to himself?

"Naruto?" Sasuke called out one more time, softly. He reached out and grasped Naruto's face, seeing the other man flinch before those beautiful, but terrified, blue eyes focused on him. Tears welled up and Naruto lunged at him, holding him tightly.

"Please, get me out of here. I can't be here, Sasuke, please!"

Sasuke froze. Naruto wanted to leave? His brother spoke the truth! Naruto would leave him if something didn't change. Thinking back, he had been taking advantage of Naruto. He needed to show him how loving he really could be. 

"Come with me to the kitchen." Sasuke helped Naruto up off the floor and led him down the stairs, watching as the man kept glancing behind him. He sat Naruto at the kitchen table and went on preparing a hot tea. Since Naruto was so distracted, Sasuke put in a sedative and handed the prepared drink to Naruto.

Naruto looked at him as he sipped away at his tea. "We have to get out," his whispered.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Shh! He'll hear you!"

Sasuke began to feel worried again as Naruto hissed at him. It seemed that Naruto wasn't pretending at all. He really believed something was in this house, and he was making Sasuke question his own sanity. 

"Why do we need to get out?" Sasuke asked again, keeping his voice soft.

"He keeps hurting me. Not at first, but he hurt me real bad after you left."

Himself. Naruto was hurting himself and he wasn't completely aware of it. Split personality? Was he really responsible for doing this to Naruto? Sasuke became more determined to make Naruto sane again. He would get a private doctor, and he would make a special room for Naruto. But for the duration...

Sasuke watched as Naruto fell asleep sitting up. He made his way to his prized possession and picked up. He carried him up the stairs and gently placed him on their bed. With scissors in hand, Sasuke began to cut one of his bed sheets into strips, not wanting to use rope that would injure Naruto any further. He binded Naruto's wrists and ankles to the bed posts, leaving enough slack so that Naruto wouldn't be completely rigid against the bed, but be unable to sit up without help, nor reach the bindings. Sasuke resolved not to release Naruto unless it was to go to the bathroom or to change. He would wait until a private doctor could examine him. And he would do his best to keep Naruto sedated so that the man would sleep and be well rested.

X

Naruto wasn't sure what was going on. He wasn't even sure what day it was anymore. And every time he started to become aware of his surroundings, he would find himself getting sleepy again. And sometimes he could hear things, feel things, but be unable to respond. He dreamed that he heard Sasuke calling his work and telling them that he needed time off to take care of his wife. He dreamed that he was chained down. Sometimes he dreamed that he was just laying in a luxurious bed, unable to move.

Often he would feel a gentle touch on his face and body, and accompanying that touch was a familiar scent of Sasuke.

But sometimes, when he dreamed that he was chained, he would smell the sulfur, and felt his body being touched in unpleasant ways. He would want to cry out and scream, but nothing came out. He wanted to beg for Sasuke to wake him up and protect him, but nothing ever happened. 

Sometimes he thought he dreamed of eating food, but since he was rarely hungry, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if maybe they weren't dreams. All he knew was that there was no longer any sense of time. He was alone.

X

Kakashi clutched the journal in his hand as the plane began to take off. He was heading back home and he desperately wanted to talk to Naruto. He was a bit concerned that he was unable to communicate with the pleasant man during the entire time back home, but he also needed to talk to someone about the sad secrets of the Utamaki household. As the plane ascended, Kakashi began to flip through the journal yet again, focusing on Rey's final and tragic chapters of life.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter will be up later today.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truths of Hatake's pasts become clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you weren't too sure where I was going with this... prepare youselves...

**The Portrait from the Attic  
Chapter 10**

Kakashi looked out the window of his plane, seeing the clouds below him. In three hours he would be home, and for some reason he was feeling anxious. He looked at the journal in his hands and settled down to read it once more, focusing on the second half of the journal.

_January 3_

_I am so confused. But I feel that I am more in control of myself than before. Because I fear of what will happen in the future, I will confess of the sin that occurred a couple days before. The party Sai threw was to celebrate the coming of a New Year. I was given the task to give the spirits to all of the clients that were invited, and for the most part, that task went well. But as it got closer to mid night, Sai began treating me as if I were one of the clients as well, offering me spirits. I refused at first, but then he referred to me as a coward. Hindsight reveals that he said it in a joking manner, but I was humiliated since the older gentlemen surrounding me laughed._

_They proposed a drinking contest, and with my foolish temper, I agreed._

_I do not recall how many glasses I drank, nor do I recall who I competed against. I have vague recollection of bidding the last of the clients goodbye and goodnight, and of being led to what I thought was my bedroom._

_And here is where I quake in revulsion and fear for my soul. I thought I had been dreaming of strange sensations that both hurt and felt good. When I woke up, I could only hazard a guess due to the soreness and pain I was feeling. And the dreadful fact that Mr. Utamaki was laying next to me, holding me intimately and without any coverings. I reacted harshly, waking him up._

_I wanted to get out, but God save my soul, Utamaki convinced me to stay. He just smiled at me and told me that I would be rejected by society if they knew what had transpired between us. And when I told him that it would ruin him, too, he laughed. His position of power saved him. They would lay the blame solely on me, accuse me of seducing an elegant man, and hang me at the gallows. Society would be quick to believe that, and I do not wish to die for a crime I did not commit._

_Then he had to gall to tell me that despite the taboo we have participated in, he would at least be honorable with me and proposed that keep fidelity towards one another, as a husband and a wife would. I reacted quite violently lashing out, and he subdued me and, gods, loathe I am to admit, forced me to submit to him again. Then he went to his study room to work. I was too stunned to do anything except flee to my room, write my last entry, and contemplate my life._

_I was tempted to end my life, but... God judges harshly against those that take their own life. My soul would be damned. But will he judge me too for allowing such atrocities to befall on my body? Who can I tell? I don't know what to think._

_February 14_

_The man had the gall to treat me like some woman again, offering me sweets and rich gifts. I am afraid to eat or drink anything offered by this man, however, none of his servants will bring me the food under orders that only he would attend me. And the storage areas are chained so that I may not retrieve them myself. What is he doing? Just what are his intentions? He comes to me with words of passion and love, but there is no such tone in his voice. It is all a game judging by his vile pleasant smile, the same one he gives to his clients. Why won't God strike him down and free me from this hell? I tried to run away, but the deputy brought me back. Sai had somehow alerted the authorities, telling them that I had had a nervous break down and was not myself._

_March 1_

_I can't fight him as much as I used to. And I am so confused. Was I really a sinner at heart? Sai's touches used to hurt me so much, but lately, he makes my blood boil in a different way. I find my resolve grow weaker each time he handles me so. I caught myself crying out his name and he heard me. The look on his face was terrifying. It looked as if he had a victory in court. And, God help me, I urged him to finish what he started. My body ached for release and he had stopped when I called his name._

_March 20_

_He is a drug. I hate him, but a mere touch sets me ablaze and I respond like a wanton girl from the bordellos. How has he managed to ensnare me so?_

_June 5_

_He proposed an awful idea. It seems people have been asking about his living arrangement. Instead of being a suitor, he has had women asking about him, suggesting that he needs to be taken care of. He lied once more and stated that he was already engaged. And he claimed that it was my twin sister. How preposterous. When I asked how he proposed to find me a twin sister that would deal with his shameful ways, he gave me that awful smile and threw a parcel at me. Horrid man! Inside was a dress. Made just for me. Then he told me that we were to be wed in front of a judge in a two weeks time. He even gave me a name. Kushina. And then he warned me again about how delicate our state was. He told me he would deny knowing anything and would make sure my death sentence would be carried out within the week. I have no choice but to follow._

_June 19_

_I hate him. I hate him from the depths of my soul. He's in his study again, making sure all of the court's papers are complete before celebrating our wedding night, as he delicately puts it. Vile man. He wants me to continue the charade. On our escort back to the mansion, he told me what was expected. When working, I would of course play the part of his apprentice, Rey Hatake. But when ever there is to be a social event, or we were to go to town, I am to play the role of Kushina Utamaki. How humiliating! And he has a whole wardrobe for her already. And demands that I learn how to sew and knit so that I can repair any of the clothing as need be!_

_August 9_

_I want to die. Sai must have known. Otherwise, why would he have sent me to open the door dressed as Kushina? When I opened the door... my parents... My poor mother. My father. I have shamed my family name. They want nothing to do with me. My friends have left me, uncertain about what has been going on in my life. And now my family, who I have kept this shameful secret from, now know the truth and have abandoned me with this devil. I have no one but him. Did he make this meeting intentional for this purpose? He will not answer. All he keeps saying is 'Poor, poor fallen angel. All you have is me. Be glad that someone still wants to take you in.'_

Kakashi sighed as he closed the journal. There were still several entries left, but he would probably read through those when he was on the bus, en route to his hometown. With another sigh, Kakashi settled back to take a nap for the duration of his trip.

X

Sasuke jumped when he heard the phone ring. Considering that the stupid wire kept falling out of the jack, he was surprised that it stayed long enough to get a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Uchiha?"

"Speaking."

Sasuke listened in as the person told him that the repairs had been made and that the portrait was back to its original state. As he was told of the details of the painting, Sasuke's eyes furrowed. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Most certainly."

Sasuke listened a bit more. "Rey Hatake, I think," Sasuke muttered in response to a question, as he glanced up towards his room. "Yeah, that's fine. I do appreciate the quickness of it's completion. I'll be there within the hour."

Sasuke hung up the phone, somewhat perplexed. He went back to the room, gave Naruto a bit more of the doctored tea, checked the bindings, and left. He glanced at the spot where the portrait had been, shook his head, and left the house.

He had a bad feeling again about the stupid painting, making him question why he attempted to get it fixed in the first place. Naruto's wrath would probably have been less of a hassle than that stupid thing.

X

The house was quiet again.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was gone because everything felt cold again. And that awful smell was coming back. 

Naruto moaned, wanting to call out as he felt those hot hands begin trailing across his body. Tears dropped down the side of his face as he felt searing pain erupt in random spots, as if someone were biting him.

He tried to pull away, but the bindings kept him from moving.

And something hard entered him.

Naruto cried out softly as his body began to rock, and he could feel himself lifting off the bed. The bindings pulled tightly against his wrists and ankles.

"Sasuke," he whispered. "Help me, please!"

Something tightened around his throat and a smothering sensation overwhelmed him.

Rage. It felt like pure rage.

X

Kakashi shook his head as he sat down on a bench. Figures that on the day he got back, there was some problems with the bus line he normally takes to get back to his hometown. Sure he could have used his car to get to the airport, but the parking price would have been almost triple than the bus ticket to and from the airport. No matter, it was still pretty early in the day and they claimed that the delay shouldn't take more than half an hour.

And so Kakashi sat down to continue rereading a few more entries, while trying to figure out how to bring this up to Naruto. 

_September 3_

_It has been happening again. I thought it was my imagination, however... I have been finding myself dressed in Kushina's clothing without any recollection to having done so. Several times, I have also woken to finding myself in Sai's bed, with no memory of having gone there either. I thought maybe I was dreaming while awake, deep in thought and that my body acted on its own, but for it to be a regular occurrence? There is something not right. Sai just seems amused. He just says that the house seems a bit more filled these days. Ironic considering that he has slowly been releasing the maids and servants. All household tasks fall on me. Do I want to escape so badly that I perform these tasks while lost in my world. Just yesterday I came to in the middle of cooking a meal I did not even realize I knew how to prepare. I did not burn it, but asking Sai who started cooking it... he looked at me and laughed and told me I must be tired. Maybe its true._

_September 10_

_A whole day. I lost a whole day. I remember Sai telling me to get dressed as we were to head to town. I remember standing in front of the mirror, making sure my disguise was flawless. I remember hating him and hating myself for not being strong enough to just leave. And then I felt incredible tired. Next thing I knew, I was in the carriage, approaching the house and the sun was setting. And to make things even more mortifying, I was in Sai's arms, just like some dutiful wife relishing her husband's attentions. I waited until we were inside before I fled to my special room, where I sit here now writing this. Sai does not seem upset at all. But he does demand that I come to his quarters and fulfill my... spousal duties. He said he is not in the mood for a gentle evening. Hah! I have no recollection of gentle evenings as of late. Unless he means of the times I find myself blacking out before he commits the vile deed._

_December 10_

_Three months since I last wrote. I am afraid for my sanity. The episodes have gotten worse. It seems that sometimes days pass by in a matter of moments. And Sai will just look at me, smile and say 'Ah, you have returned.' But what does he mean? My head is usually hurting when I become aware of my surroundings. And he wastes no time in dragging me to his quarters to violate me. He claims it is out of love. It is nothing but lust. I have been abandoned by everyone, including my God. Surely he would have saved me by now if he cared._

_January 1_

_A whole year has gone by since that dreadful night. And Sai had the need to celebrate it once more. We had our end of year party, although I only remember the latter half. I wish I could kill him._

_February 22_

_I found something peculiar in my hidden room. A diary with a woman's handwriting. As far as I know, this house was built and only lived in by Sai. I did not read it, but I am curious. I left it where I found it. I will check to see if it moves from there. If it does, than someone has been hiding away in this house. If not, then I shall satisfy my curiosity._

_March 9_

_It is the work of a devil. I am doomed._

Kakashi put away the journal as his bus number was called. He settled himself into the chair after boarding and pulled out the journal once more. As the bus began to head to its destination, Kakashi read some more, skimming through most of the days. He spent more time on the entries that he saw as most important.

_March 12_

_I had to research what may be happening to me. It is frightening and incredible. But at the same time it explains so much. The diary had moved from its spot, but it was still in the same room. So I opened to see if a name had been inscribed on the inside cover. Lo and behold, Kushina Utamaki was written inside the coverings. A fictional person. I thought it was an evil prank, but I started matching some of the dates that were written inside. They corresponded with the times that I cannot recall. Split personality. That is the disorder that best describes what I am suffering. Did Kushina become real because I wanted to escape Sai with all my heart? And if so, why does she speak so lovingly of the devil. What will become of her now that I know of her existence. It makes sense now of the way Sai will occasionally remark of my return. He knows. He understands what is happening and he refuses to give me any aid. Why should he? If my other half loves Utamaki as much as she drivels on in her diary, he most likely takes advantage of that. I wish to tear these dresses and see if that stops her from taking over... but how she speaks of me! She calls me her brother! She knows of me but I just am finding out of her! The books do not explain the possibility of this, and I do not know what doctor I can contact to help me understand. Sai will not allow it, I know. I shiver at the thought of that man touching me the way she has described. I do not know what to do. I would like to know what happens when I lose track of time, but at the same time I do not want to know how harmless Sai seems to be with Kushina. I must make a choice._

_March 13_

_I have decided not to read through more of Kushina's journal. I do not want to know what transpires between the two. And it appears she does not think favorable of me. I have to laugh at the irony. I do not think favorably of myself, but for different reasons. My other half is jealous of the attention Sai gives me. I wish he would bore of me and find some other toy. No matter._

_April 18_

_The man assaulted me on the stairs of all places. I tried to ignore him, but he grabbed my arm so painfully. Then he let go. Thinking I was safe, I started to move down. But then he shoved me against the bannister and... I do not even want to think about it, much less write about it. I want to die. But I am afraid._

_May 10_

_Sai has not touched me for a day. I am still not sure what has happened. A doctor was called to check my lungs. It seems I was found in the pond a few days ago. A near drowning. Sai pulled me out. Or at least that is what I have heard. But I have blacked out again recently. Could this be the doing of Kushina? What has happened that she has attempted to finish us off? Has her jealousy of me grown to hatred? I wish I continued reading her diary. I might have been better prepared. Or maybe she is only being brave enough to do what I only wish of doing. If so, I wish her luck. I am a coward. If I die by her hands, then it is not really suicide, is it? Not when I am not of my own mind? What is worse, the way Sai has been treating me is so much kinder than before. If only we had become friends instead of this sordid relationship we find ourselves in, I might have like him better._

_May 16_

_I cannot do this any longer. I must escape. This life should not be for anyone. To be completely dependent on one person, it is a sad and pitiful life. I have come to the realization that Sai does not intend for me to promote to the next level. I am certain he set on keeping me as his apprentice and his wife for as long as he wants, and considering that every night I am being subjected to performing my spousal duties, he has not bored of me at all. And he has grown more perverse as sometimes he will demand these carnal actions in broad daylight! And in rooms that should never see such acts. It is bad enough that I must lay next to him in his bed, but even my rooms of refuge are tainted now. I feel as if I am suffocating. I must go._

_May 18_

_I have decided to go for it. I shall begin my preparations. Sai has many clients lined up, and I know sometime in either June or July, one of his more high profile clients will take him out of town. It will be for two days but that should be enough time for me. And since it is only two days, surely Sai will trust me to stay alone in this house. He will not suspect anything._

_June 1_

_It is towards the end of this month. I have determined that his client will call for him around that time. I have been gathering my money that I have been saving. And I have learned of the code to the safe in which Sai has in his study._

_June 15_

_Strange. I have been blacking out again, although not quite as often. And I have found that my belongings have moved from where I have hidden them. At first I thought it was Sai, however, I would find them somewhere else with a small note. My other half. I am no longer as terrified of the thought of her. Even though something happened, and the near drowning happened during my blackout... I feel as if she is assisting me. After all, those notes... they are words of encouragements and warning._

_June 19_

_Sai has been cancelling a lot of his appointments. I do hope he does not cancel the one that will set me free. For whatever reason my other half has started communicating with me, I am glad for the warnings. Had I not stumbled across the note, Sai surely would have caught me today packing. The house was incredibly quiet and I almost ignored the note stating that the appointment had been cancelled. As I sat there on my bed, pondering if I should delay further preparation, Sai entered the quarters. His quiet entry gave me such a start. What if I had been filling one of my bags when he had entered? I found myself submitting to his whims, encouraged that in a few days, I will no longer have to deal with such affairs._

_June 24_

_Sai is leaving tomorrow in the morn by daybreak. I am to go to town to mail some paperwork. I will do this so that if he has contact with people in the town, they will state that I did my business. Of course, I must be dressed as Kushina. I hope she is aware of this should I black out tonight. And I hope that if I do black out, she helps me follow through with my plan, or at least return my control by that evening. I do lament, however, that she may fade away. I have been toying with the idea of keeping a new journal with me, one to use to communicate with her, so that we are not alone while we try, while I try, to rebuild my life._

Kakashi leaned his head back as he sighed and closed the book. The last entry seemed to hold such promise and hope. 

He reflected on how excited he had been to have the chance to find out why Rey Hatake had been crossed off the family tree, and the mystery between the fabled Kushina Hatake/Utamaki. Never did he suspect that Rey had been accused unjustly, nor that Kushina was fictitious, and yet existed. 

X

"Naruto, I'm back," Sasuke called out, as he entered through the front door. He listened carefully and could hear soft sobbing sounds from upstairs. With a sigh, he shut the door, placed his package against the fireplace, and went into the kitchen. It seemed that the sedative wore off and poor Naruto must be terrified. 

As he set a kettle to boil water for some tea for Naruto, Sasuke went back to the hallway and began to unwrap the portrait. He was surprised to hear from Gai that the female was not the original person. As Sasuke tore away the wrappings, he understood why the female must have been painted over.

While the face was the same, the figure was that of a man. The same man whose sketch rested on the mantle. Underneath, Gai had added the inscription of Rey Hatake and Sai Utamaki.

"I can only assume that these two were lovers and had to hide their relationship through deceit. And they represented that secret by hiding Rey's figure with that of a woman. How sad that even during these times, some people feel the necessity to continue hiding."

Sasuke felt uncomfortable at that point, wondering if maybe Mr. Maito suspected something of Sasuke and Naruto.

As Sasuke carefully hung the portrait up, he couldn't help but feel an anxious feeling wash over him. While the sketch was uncanny enough, seeing the portrait in color, Sasuke couldn't help but see the remarkable similarities between Naruto and Rey. The only difference were the scars. And now that the woman had been removed, that shy look seemed more like one of shame. A smile had been painted on the female. On Rey, the look of sadness was profound, and Sasuke found himself disliking the Sai person even more, even though he didn't understand why.

A chill ran through him, causing him to shiver. 

Satisfied that the portrait wasn't going to fall down, Sasuke set about to start a fire in the fireplace. As the saw the flames continue to grow, he then went back into the kitchen and finished preparing the tea. He carefully made his way up the stairs, frowning as he realized that the soft sobbing sound were gone. Instead, it sounded like someone panting for air after a cardio workout.

Sasuke entered the room.

"Sorry I took so long. I had to pick up a re..." Sasuke gasped and dropped the tea as he rushed over to Naruto.

Naruto had his eyes clenched shut and was whispering "No more, no more. Please, stop." His wrists and ankles were bruising, seemingly from pulling on his bindings too hard. But what scared Sasuke was the bruises that were developing all over Naruto's body, especially around the collarbone, hips, and between his legs. There was no way Naruto could have harmed himself like this with his hands ties. Could it be that there was something in this house after all?

He wasn't sure if he felt more terrified at that possibility or another prospect. Could he be losing his mind and causing harm to Naruto himself?

No, that still didn't make sense considering that he was gone for the correct amount of time to get to town and pick up the portrait.

Sasuke began to undo the bindings, shushing Naruto. "Everything is going to be okay, Naru," he murmured, rubbing Naruto's right hand.

"Sasuke?" Naruto opened his eyes and looked at him in disbelief. "That really you?"

"Y...yeah."

"It was here, Sasuke. It hurt me really bad. I feel so dirty."

Sasuke felt himself grow stiff as Naruto threw his arms around him and began to cry softly, trying to hold back. Sasuke held him back, feeling hollow. Something hurt Naruto, something that he couldn't defend him from. But what about himself? He could defend Naruto from his own self, right? If he listened to Itachi...

Sasuke tightened his hold on Naruto as a sense of loneliness washed over him. If he did what Itachi asked of him, Naruto would leave and go back to his home and possibly reunite with his friends. As for Sasuke... he would stay and continue his work because he could never abandon a job that was not complete. Forced out of it, yes, but not abandon it by choice. Then what? Move back to where his family is? Without Naruto? The thought of being without his blond terrified him. He had done everything possible to have him. 

But time had turned those feelings of success into ones of desperation which often made him cruel towards Naruto.

Feeling his heart clench, Sasuke tilted Naruto's head upwards and gave him a gentle kiss. "May I?" he asked.

Naruto gave him a confused look, and then it melted to a resigned one. "I don't want to feel dirty."

"It won't be."

Naruto allowed himself to be pushed back to the bed, and Sasuke pressed forward, feeling the tightness in his throat grow worse. How many times had Naruto submitted to him like this only because Sasuke wanted it that way? He really was an ass. The worse kind of person. Because despite the guilt he was currently feeling, lust was racing through his veins.

He chose to be gentle this time, so as not to make Naruto feel worse. He worshipped his body just like that time when he tricked Naruto into letting him have sex while sober. He focused on making Naruto feel pleasure rather than himself. He slid in and out of his slowly, pressing against Naruto's prostrate, focusing on Naruto's gasps and clenched teeth. Although, the sounds of Naruto's gasps and moans did arouse Sasuke, he remained at a steady pace, speeding up when Naruto begged for him to go faster. He felt Naruto's ass clenched around his dick and both of them came almost immediately after that.

Sasuke rested on top of Naruto, catching his breath. Even though it was gentle lovemaking, his body felt tired. And he could feel the breathing of Naruto even out. 

With a groan, Sasuke got up and got dressed. He glanced down at Naruto, who was out cold, and a bitter smile crossed his face. He knew he was going to have to make a decision, but he wasn't sure of what yet. He made his way out of the room and down the stairs, feeling the air around him growing heavy. 

X

Kakashi found himself driving out towards the Utamaki mansion instead of heading straight home. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that he needed to be there. Maybe it was all in the head and Naruto would laugh at him once he got there, but for some reason he really needed to see Naruto. Maybe it was because he read those stupid articles his grandfather had given him.

Well, stupid was harsh. It finally shed some horrifying light on what had transpired in that house, but seeing the pictures of Sai and Rey, he felt as if he was being thrown into the past. Or that the past had overlapped with the present. 

And not being able to get in contact with Naruto during his entire absence, just made the feeling of anxiety even worse. 

Kakashi tried calling the house through his cellphone and was greeted with a busy signal. With a huff, he tossed his cellphone onto the passenger seat and picked up speed once he hit the road that would lead to the mansion.

X

Naruto groaned as he came too. His body was slightly sore with the tell tale signs that Sasuke had sex with him... and gentle sex at that. It always left his body tingling in sensitivity.

But something woke him up that had nothing to do with the gentleness that Sasuke had displayed. The heavy feeling in the air was back and he felt as if he were being engulfed.

Eyes widening, Naruto sat up and looked around.

The room seemed dark, although the setting sun would explain that. 

The smell of rotten eggs was back again, faint at first and getting stronger.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, fear causing his voice to tighten.

"Sasuke?" he called out again, a bit louder.

A form began to develop in front of him.

"Sas..!" Naruto's cry for help was cut off as the figure lunged towards him and he found himself unable to breathe.

X

Sasuke paced in front of the portrait, emotions racing through his head. Seeing Naruto asleep like that made him want to forget the decision he was trying to make and continue keeping Naruto by his side. But looking at the damn portrait, seeing Sai's smug face and the sad look upon Rey's face... He didn't want Naruto to be like Rey.

And that suffocating feeling in the air was irritating him.

With a sudden rush of fiery rage, Sasuke grabbed the side table by the stairs and swung it up towards the newly fixed portrait.

Miscalculating the weight, he hit the corner of the fire mantle instead, cracking one of the table's legs. Infuriated even more, Sasuke let out a scream of rage and swung the table three more times, cracking the corner of the fireplace the first two times, and catching the edge of the painting the last time.

Panting for air, Sasuke threw the table down and turned his back to the painting, leaned against the fireplace, and sank to the floor.

He held his hands to his eyes, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

What to do, what to do?

Sasuke sat their for a second, eyes closed, feeling the heat of the fire in the fireplace on his left side, and the cold air on his right.

With a sniffle, Sasuke rested his head back and let his hands fall. His right hand fell upon the broken bricks from the fireplace, and something else.

Sasuke glanced over and was surprised to see that amid the fragments of bricks there was a wooden box.

He reached over for it and grabbed it. It was a simple thing, with a lid that slid open. And inside was a old looking hardcover book. There was no title or anything on it, and when Sasuke flipped through it, he realized that the pages had been handwritten. Flipping to the front he saw one name... Utamaki Sai.

Grimacing in distaste, he glanced up above him, unable to see the portrait but knowing that the pale faced creep was still there. The heavy feeling increased, and morbid curiosity filled Sasuke's mind. The man was dead so it was as if he really had no claims to privacy anymore. Opening the book, Sasuke noticed that one page was folded over, and judging by the crack on the spine and binding, this seemed to be a favorite entry of the late Utamaki.

_July 20_

_The Hatake boy will arrive soon. I wonder how useless he will be. He probably will not last long under my tutelage._

_July 21_

_He is like an Adonis. I have changed my mind. Rey Hatake is like a ray of sunlight that will bring light to this dismal mansion. I will teach him what is necessary, but I believe I will do my best to keep him by my side. I must find a way to ensnare him. Hunting is so much fun._

"What a creep," Sasuke muttered, flipping through to the next set of well used pages.

_October 7_

_My plans seem to be moving along nicely, although I must admit I rather just take him and have my way with him. He is skittish as a foal around me, a slight touch making him start. He looks so adorably confused since my touches are friendly, but I have practiced my indifferent look very well._

Sketches were also found throughout the entries, a couple showing Rey staring out a window, a couple of his sitting in various positions, and there were even a few of him sleeping on the couch or on his bed.

_December 3_

_It is time to escalate my plan. I will leave him so shocked that he will have no choice but to stay by my side to hide the sinful life I will lead him to. I burn so much for him. By the end of this year, he will be entirely mine. I believe that my refusal to allow him to have Sundays free is an ideal step. Why waste those hours for something as frivolous as church?_

_December 6_

_The agony of sharing a simple kiss and nothing more. Although I suppose the term sharing is too generous as I simply took and gave him little chance to fight._

_December 7_

_Oh, how he fought against me. But once our lips were pressed, he gave in so easily. It helped knowing that although his family was supportive, they were not as affectionate as most families tend to be. They do not believe in expressing physical affection outside their spouses. Rey was raised with respect and support, but not a caring hand between him and his mother, and much less his father. No wonder he is overwhelmed with my advances. The party will be when my plan takes place._

_December 29_

_Everything has been taken care of. By the New Year, all my patience shall be rewarded._

Sasuke felt sick in his stomach. Sai was reminding him more and more of himself.

_January 2_

_It was fantastic. I had him challenged in a drinking game, and the young fool consumed more than he could handle. It was so easy taking him to my room while my guests left. It was wonderful shedding his clothes, as if he were a parcel I received with unknown contents waiting to surprise me inside. Oh, how uncoordinated he was, trying to stop me. I doubt he knew everything that was happening, as his moves were somewhat clumsy. He did ask me a couple times what I intended to do, but I could barely make out the words._

_I worshipped his body with my hands and lips, and when I entered him, it was paradise. I cared not for his cries, nor for his drunken pleas to stop, I sated my lust. I let myself go as if I were a wild animal. I spilled myself deep in him. I left my marks upon his skin. I made him mine._

_He tried to escape my embrace when he woke up, but I held on tight. I convinced him that in this we were alone, for if our actions were to be made public, I would not hesitate to let society believe he was the improper one. Almost broken, I was able to enjoy young Rey once more. Even now as I write this, I know that he is hiding in his room, probably trying to convince himself that nothing happened. I will let him get over the initial shock. But only for a couple days at most. Now that I have had my prize, I plan to enjoy it every moment possible._

Sasuke felt his stomach churn and his hands begin to shake. The story was too familiar. And he couldn't help but despise Sai. But if he despised Sai for what he did with Rey, then what about him and Naruto? 

Sasuke flipped through again, pausing when he caught a sketch of a girl. Kushina, if Sasuke remembered correctly. The girl Sai married. Did he let Rey go?

_May 17_

_It is adorable how confused Rey has become. He no longer fights me as much as he did before, but he does try to deny what my touches invoke in him. How responsive he as become to a simple caress. I am sure he feels that his God is abandoning him._

_June 5_

_Rey was so livid, but no matter. He will be beautiful as a woman. More exquisite because he will be beautiful on the outside, and only I shall know the secret of what lies underneath all those layers of clothing. He shall live on as both my wife and my apprentice, and no one shall be the wiser._

"Oh my god, oh my god," whispered Sasuke.

_August 9_

_My plan went perfectly. Rey is completely mine as his family have already stated that they will disown him. Their shame will keep them quiet. It was rather simple. Tell Rey that some clients would be coming to meet my wife, have him cook, and then greet the guests as they arrived. He never suspected that his parents were coming to see him. The shocked look on their faces... how aghast he looked. It was beautiful. He has no where to go to now. I have completely won._

_September 5_

_Curious happenings have occurred, and all to my benefit. It seems I may have broken my beautiful Rey. It is almost as if Kushina has become real. He has no recollections of his actions as a woman, or shall I say when he acts completely feminine. He is so affectionate with me that I cannot help but return the gentleness. It is when he is himself that I throw myself with such reckless abandon that I am a bit surprised I have not seriously injured him. It is almost as if I were sharing my bed with two different people. If this continues, there is no way I will get tired of either one._

"Bastard."

_January 6_

_Seems Rey is getting his spark back. He seems to forget that he has no where to run. And Kushina makes her appearance more often now. At least it allows me to parade her in town._

_March 19_

_I must keep a close eye on Rey, and for that matter, Kushina. Seems that both of them are showing signs of depression. That is not a fun prospect. I want them at their peek. Well, as long as Kushina is happy. I get a thrill of seeing Rey looking rather hopeless._

_May 9_

_I have decided to give Rey a rest, considering I am not sure whom influenced who to take a swim in the frigid pond. It was mere chance that I peered out of my study's window to see Rey dressed as Kushina walking into the middle of the pond. I know Rey only knows the minimal of staying afloat, but dressed in all those layers of clothing? Impossible. I raced to the grounds and dragged the body out. I was barely in time. Lips were already turning blue, and recalling a practice that some doctors once showed me, I breathed air into him. Into them, really. Water was coughed up and I was able to bring him upstairs. I have decided it is best not to call a doctor until he has regained consciousness. That way we can collaborate a believable story._

Sasuke stopped breathing as he thought he heard a sound from their room above. Hearing nothing else, Sasuke turned back to the journal and flipped towards the ending pages.

_May 19_

_I know the ungrateful bastard is thinking of leaving. The episode that led him to the water has frightened him so. But I will not tolerate such a defiant act. I will keep him with me at all costs. Nothing will separate us._

_June 1_

_I am letting him believe that I am going away on a trip to meet some clients. I will wait and see what he does once I am 'a day's worth' away from town._

_June 3_

_I shall wait nearby and watch._

_June 6_

_It is over. But not quite. He is gone, and yet not. I shall put my skills to the test._

Strange brown stains peppered the paper.

_June 10_

_My hobby as a taxidermist has proven to be a well chosen hobby._

A lock of blond hair rested between the pages.

_August 1_

_The people have suspected something. I will hide this. No one must know. I shall burn everything else. My sweet Rey, we shall be embraced together in the fires if all goes well. Together forever._

Sasuke let the book drop, a horrible feeling washing over him. The last couple of entries seemed so devoid of emotion, of reasoning... of lacking something more human. And at the same time, Sasuke began to understand why he hated the portrait so much. Even though he knew nothing of Sai until just this past half hour... Sai was so much like him. Sasuke hated him. Thus, deep down, Sasuke hated himself. 

He was always seen as being strange. Sure people flocked to him because of his looks, but almost as quickly the thought him too weird and stepped away. Naruto was the only one that told him, "You're weird. But I like you!" His attraction to the blonde began at first sight, but his obsession increased ten fold with that friendly declaration. 

Friendly.

Naruto only wanted to be friends with him. But Sasuke wanted so much more. And being use to having what he wanted, did everything to tie Naruto to himself. Just like Sai did with Rey. 

Sasuke stood up, decision firmly set in his head.

Rey, or Kushina, decided to drown herself to get away. If he continued the way he was going, what was to say Naruto wouldn't pull a similar action. The thought of being parted from Naruto sent him into a wave of depression, but the thought of being the reason behind Naruto's death killed him. 

He would let Naruto go. 

Knowing he had been alienated from his friends, Sasuke would encourage Naruto to go to the Uchiha family. He was positive his parents and Itachi would help Naruto adjust. As for himself, he would stay in this mansion to complete the project he was working on. Then afterwards, he would check on Naruto. If Naruto grew to actually love him during their time together, Sasuke would meet him back home. But if Naruto moved on, wanting nothing to do with him... Then Sasuke would make sure he would never enter his life again. He would never bother anyone again. 

"I won't be like you," Sasuke muttered, turning over to look at the portrait. 

And he froze.

Sai's eyes seemed to glitter in malicious intent, as thin lines began to appear across the cheeks of Rey. Red liquid, looking very much like blood, welled up and began to roll down the portrait. 

A thumping sound could suddenly be heard quite clearly from upstairs.

Sasuke tore up the steps. "Naruto? Naruto!"

X

Kakashi saw the mansion up ahead. He couldn't help but slow down as a chill passed through him. With the sun setting, the mansion just looked plain creepy. But he could see there were some lights on.

X

Sasuke flew into the room and stopped short.

The room was filled with the stench of rotten eggs. But worse, Naruto was sprawled across the bed, and there was a dark naked figure over him, hands clutched at Naruto's throat. Naruto's body was obscenely rocking in time with the figure's movements. Cold black eyes looked up to meet Sasuke's, and a calculating grin stole across the familiar face.

Sai.

"Mine," he heard it say, as it rolled its hips, briefly exposing a bloodied cock.

"No!"

Sasuke watched as Naruto's eyes rolled back and his hands that were desperately trying to pry Sai's hands fall away from them. 

"Let him go!" Sasuke shouted as he leapt towards the bed.

Sasuke launched himself over the bed and found himself sailing past Naruto as Sai's figure disappeared. The scent of rotten eggs became worse, more like the scent of rotting meat. Sasuke scrambled up and reached towards Naruto.

Hot air slammed into him and he felt himself being thrown against the wall.

Sasuke gasped for air as he struggled to stand. Black spots appeared in front of his eyes as he willed himself to remain conscious. A figure materialized in front of him again, and Sasuke watched as Naruto's legs were pulled over its shoulders.

"No, you son of a bitch! Let him go!" Sasuke cried out hoarsely, trying to go for it again.

The figure turned back and Sasuke faltered, gagging from the stench and recoiling from fear. The face had become distorted, eyes and mouth stretching out as if it were a rubber mask. The skin was blotchy now, paleness mixed in with black and blue. The thing swung out and back handed Sasuke, claws raking across his face.

Sasuke never was a religious person. How could he when most religions shunned what he was?

But at that moment, he tried to recall any form of incantation, and all he could think of was one he heard during Christmas several years back. The same one often used is depictions of exorcisms.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God..."

A claw reached for his throat, trying to cut off his air.

"Blessed be...amongst women... and blessed be..."

Sasuke found himself suddenly able to move as the figure vanished, letting out a shrieking sound of rage. The smell was gone but the oppressive feeling was still present, and Sasuke knew that it was waiting. Sasuke coughed as he was able to breathe more freely, and then he remembered...

Panicked, Sasuke rushed over the Naruto. Bruises were forming between Naruto's legs, and scratch marks ran up and down Naruto's body. His lips were tinted blue, and his eyes were closed.

"Naruto? Naruto!" Sasuke climbed up on the bed, feeling himself growing hysterical but being unable to control it. "Naruto, wake up!" Sasuke straddled Naruto's body and grasped his shoulder, shaking him. "Naruto, open your eyes, don't do this!"

Hysteria began to grow into anger as tears began to flow down Sasuke's face.

"You fucker, you fucker!" Sasuke cried out, knowing that demon could hear him "I'll fucking kill you! You hear? I'll kill you! Naruto!" Sasuke continued to shake the man before him, hoping that he would just wake up.

X

Kakashi tried ringing the door bell but heard nothing. Frowning, Kakashi tried knocking. He stepped back off the front porch to look up at the lighted windows from upstairs. He was almost tempted to throw a pebble and see if he could get a reaction when a bone chilling shriek was heard from inside.

Kakashi jumped into action, pounding on the door and trying the handle. The door swung inwards, and Kakashi stumbled to the ground. Seeing the stairs down the hall, Kakashi scrambled up and ran up the steps, heading towards the direction he had seen the window lit.

As he reached the top, he paused as he heard someone shouting, "You fucker, you fucker! I'll fucking kill you!" Moving forward, he came across the open bedroom and froze in shock. Sasuke Uchiha was straddled over the unmoving body of Naruto Uzumaki, hands around his neck area, shaking him. "You hear?! I'll kill you! Naruto!"

Kakashi tried to move forward and was stunned when the bedroom door suddenly slammed in his face. Kakashi reeled back, holding his nose as he could feel warm liquid oozing down over his fingers. Kakashi tried for the door handle and yanked his hand away as his skin blistered, the shape of the door handle burning into his palm.

"Son of a bitch! Naruto! Sasuke!" Kakashi looked around and saw the phone near the stairs. Rushing over to pick it up, he was frustrated to see that the wire was frayed. There was no dial tone on the damn thing. Then he remembered his phone sitting on the passenger side of his car. He ran back down the stairs, hoping that he would have enough time to get to the phone and find something to help him bust open the bedroom door. As he reached the front door, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on their end. 

He turned around and found himself unable to move in fear. At the top of the stairs, glaring down at him, was a solid black mass in the shape of a human figure. Only, the body seemed elongated, and Kakashi could swear he smelled rotten meat. Black eyes glared down at him in wide, serpentine slits. A long thin mouth filled with sharp teeth grinned at him. Claw like fingers kept curling and uncurling, like a person read to fight clenching and unclenching his hands. 

Kakashi took one step back as the thing suddenly dashed down the steps at such an inhuman speed. Kakashi only had time to raise his arms to protect his face as he felt the thing slam into him. Kakashi felt the air rush out of him as he was thrown out the front door. He tumbled off the front deck and down the three steps where his body rolled for a few feet. With shaky hands, Kakashi struggled to his feet, coughing as his lungs cried for air. Looking up, he saw that the front door was closed and all the lights seemed to be flickering from inside the house. Unsure of what he had just seen and experienced, Kakashi ran to his car and opened the door, grabbing his abandoned phone.

He dialed the emergency number to report the one thing he was certain of.

"Hello? Please! I need police and an ambulance to the Utamaki mansion! There's a murder being committed!"

Kakashi looked back at the house and paled.

"Fire! Fire is breaking out!"

X

Sasuke only heard the bedroom door slam shut causing him to look up. He watched as flames suddenly began to form from the door handle. A weak coughing sound caused him to look down and he saw that Naruto was stirring. Relief was brief as he knew that he was going to have to find a way out. Releasing Naruto, Sasuke scrambled off the bed and grabbed his bedside table. He lifted it up and swung it several times at the door, the fire having weakened the wood around the doorknob. The door swung open and Sasuke ran back to Naruto, dragging him off the bed.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said, his voice hoarse.

"Fire. We need to get out."

Naruto shook his head. "Can't. You go."

"Shut up, dobe."

Sasuke picked him up and made his way past the flaming doorway and to the stairs. As he walked down, Sasuke felt his heart pound when he noticed that the thing that was suppose to be Sai was standing at the front door. Fire was beginning to erupt around the wood itself as the flames began to catch on the the wall around the door. The thing turned around.

It took a step towards the steps, and so Sasuke began again to recite the prayer to the Catholic's saint. The thing hissed and paced at the bottom of the steps, as if it were afraid to advance further. As Sasuke made his way, step by step, the creature backed up. Sasuke finally reached the bottom and continued to pray, holding Naruto to his chest. He slowly made his way forward, sweat beginning to pour down his face from the heat.

Sasuke then paused in front of the fireplace. 

He stopped mid prayer as he looked at the photo. 

The creature hissed.

Sasuke carefully lay Naruto down, as his eyes focused on the creature in front of him that looked even more agitated.

"I wonder," Sasuke said. "It all started when he found this..."

Sasuke reached up for the painting, and the creature stood still.

Sasuke slowly took it down and glanced at it. The painting was no longer bleeding, but Sasuke could see the faint lines on Rey's cheeks, lines that looked similar to the scars on Naruto's face. Sasuke looked back up and gave the creature a smile. "I wonder what will happen if its no more."

Sasuke tossed the portrait into the flames in the fireplace.

The creature shrieked again and Sasuke lost his balance as the floor underneath him began to shake. He fell on top of Naruto. Glancing at the fire, Sasuke watched as flames licked the edges of the wooden canvas. Popping sounds could be heard as flames began to erupt outwards.

Sasuke dragged Naruto away from the fireplace, huddling up against the wall.

Fire began to race up the walls, connecting to the ones that had continued to grow from the front door.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called out weakly.

"Shh. Save your strength," Sasuke said. "I'll get you out, you'll see."

"Save yourself," Naruto said. "Don't think I am well enough."

Sasuke looked down at Naruto, seeing those horrifying bruises around Naruto's neck. Despite the heat, Naruto was shivering, and Sasuke realized that Naruto's body was cold. His lips and fingertips were still tinted blue, and his eyes looked unfocused. The bruises that covered his torso looked like they were growing.

Sasuke felt his throat tighten again. He was going to fail him.

"Don't say that," Sasuke whispered, as the creature practically danced in front of them, trying to reach for the burning portrait. "You have to live. I promised to let you go."

"Let me go?"

Sasuke nodded and held Naruto close to him.

"To say I'm sorry. When you told me you liked me, I was so happy. No one ever liked me for me. It made me feel special, and I wanted more from you than what you really wanted to give."

Naruto gave him a weak smile.

"Silly, Sasuke. I always wanted to be... your friend. I was happy being your friend. I'll always be your friend."

"Friend. If only... if only I was happy with just that. I love you."

"I know. That why... I stayed."

Naruto's eyes fluttered closed and Sasuke felt as if everything stopped, no longer concerned with the fire raging around him, nor the inhuman thing in front of him.

"Naruto?" he whispered. "Naruto, no! Oh, God, please, no! Naruto, wake up, please! I'll get you out and you'll be free and happy, okay?" 

Sasuke's vision became blurry from tears, and so he didn't see as the creature, Sai, demon, or whatever, grab him by the throat and haul him up. Sasuke clawed at the hand as Naruto's body tumbled away from his lap and he found his feet no longer touching the ground.

Sasuke struggled to look at the creature. He manage to spit in its eye, enraging it.

"Go to hell," Sasuke said, as black dots began to dance across his vision. He looked upwards and sent a silent prayer that Naruto would find haven if a heaven existed. _Even if I'm no longer with you, may you please find peace in your afterlife._

Sasuke's watched as the ceiling above him began to cave in.

X

The sun was rising as Kakashi numbly made his way across the still smoking ruins.

"Careful there," he heard the fire inspector say.

Despite his efforts, he had been unable to get back into the house. And then that fire... it had blazed so quickly and out of control. Even as the firetrucks and the planes they used for forest fires continuously sprayed water, the fire seemed determined enough to continue forward until everything was burned to the ground.

Two charred bodies had been found near the front entrance, one on top of the other as if trying to protect it from falling debris. The skull was cracked and one of the officers had mentioned that something must have fallen on his head. They couldn't be too sure if he lost consciousness right away, not with the way he was over the other one's body.

Kakashi didn't understand at all.

If he had seen Sasuke killing Naruto, why was he near the front door and posed protectively over Naruto's body? Why drag a dead body towards the front door unless the person wasn't dead to begin with? And that thing... what was that thing that had attacked him?

He made sure not to mention it to any of the officers. He would certainly be sent to be evaluated.

Kakashi silently wept as he made his way to his car, failure completely engulfing him.

He sat in the driver's seat and continued to mourn, watching as the investigators continued to sort through the mess. The bodies of Sasuke and Naruto were gone, and Kakashi suspected that Sasuke's missing wife really didn't exist either. Just like in the tragic journal he had read.

Kakashi looked over at the box that held the articles his grandfather had found for him.

With shaking fingers, he opened the box and skimmed through some of the headlines and paragraphs. If only... no. There would be no way that getting these to Naruto would have warned him of any danger. Even Kakashi didn't know. He only felt apprehensive because of Naruto's looks and the mansion itself.

> SEARCH FOR MISSING HATAKE SIBLINGS CONTINUES: UTAMAKI SUSPICIOUSLY SILENT
> 
> HATAKE SIBLINGS FEARED TO BE VICTIMS OF FOUL PLAY
> 
> UTAMAKI QUESTIONED ON HATAKE SIBLINGS' DISAPPEARANCE
> 
> HOUSE OF HORRORS: PRESERVED BODY OF HATAKE FOUND, SISTER BELIEVED TO BE FICTIONOUS. 
> 
> UTAMAKI TO BE CHARGED WITH MURDER AND MALICIOUS AND IMMORAL ACTS AGAINST A CORPSE

Police , through investigation, had discovered that Kushina Hatake never existed. Rey Hatake, in an effort to escape, had been caught leaving the house. Sai confessed that, in a fit of rage, he had an altercation with the young man and had sent him down the stairs. He didn't bother calling for a doctor and instead left Rey to die unaided while Sai watched. To make matters even more horrifying, Sai Utamaki had used his skills in taxidermy to conserve Rey's body. Reading through the passages, one could surmise why Sai had kept Rey's corpse. People were outraged and denounced him as being a follower of Satan. But the arrest and trial never happened, for Sai died during an attempt to burn his entire mansion to the ground after escaping detainment. A beam had fallen on his head, and the firemen at that time were able to get the flames under control. The mansion was repaired by the following owners, but strange things seemed to occur whenever couples move in.

A knock on his window startled Kakashi.

One of the officers was waving to him.

Stepping out, Kakashi gave the officer a look.

"Uh, this was found. We figured it might as well go back to you, since its from your family."

Kakashi stared as one of the officers came over with a large painting. The edges were slightly charred, but the image itself was intact. REY HATAKE AND SAI UTAMAKI.

"Uh, thank you," Kakashi murmured, taking the painting. He looked up towards the burned ground. He would buy the land and rebuild the mansion and hope that maybe it would have a better future.

X

Kakashi stared at the portrait hanging over the fireplace. Seeing the image again sent a strange feeling running through him. It had been three years since the Utamaki mansion had burned to the ground. He had managed to collect enough money to buy the land and begin rebuilding it with some more modern specifications. Due to Rey's uncanny similarities to Naruto, Kakashi had hidden it away in the attic. It was tough looking at it as he had attended Naruto and Sasuke's funerals. They had been buried in the same plot. Kakashi was the only one against it, not liking the idea of Naruto's killer being next to him.

But the Uchiha family stated as warped as Sasuke was, they refused to believe that he would have done something so ghastly.

Itachi was the most remorseful though, and he made a passing comment to Kakashi.

"I tried to convince him to let Naruto go. I should have been more firm. He mentioned something about dying than being separated from Naruto, but I know he meant only himself. He would never have killed Naruto."

Kakashi continued to have his doubts. 

He didn't hear from them after that.

Even though he succeeded in rebuilding the mansion, Kakashi was almost sure that he would be unable to live there. So he put in ads offering the place for rent while hiring a live in handyman to continue tweaking the insides and outsides of the mansion.

He was still reviewing some of the applicants. Strangely enough, some of them just didn't feel right. A Yuki and a Shindou reminded him way too much of Sasuke's and Naruto's personalities, plus the moving really seemed to be only Shindou's wish. A couple of university students named Touya and, strangely enough another Yuki, lost their excitement in the mansion once they stepped in. They left in a hurry. A Fai and Kuragame was an almost subdued version of Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi felt himself even more unwilling to sell to anyone who reminded him of them. Another set of males named Barnaby and Kotetsu looked into the house, and even though the appearance was reversed, and they were only looking for renting the place for six months due to a temporary job in the area, finding out that Kotetsu had a kid he was planning on bringing over made the hair on the back of Kakashi's head stand on end.

But it was ridiculous paranoia. Wasn't it? Or was it because he was lying to himself and really didn't want to rent out the mansion to anyone else.

The sound of someone coming down the steps caught his attention, and he felt his heart speed up and palms begin to sweat at the sight of the person. During his entire time in this town, no woman had ever caught his attention. So he had been surprised to the attraction he felt when this newcomer had shown up, seeking employment as the maintenance man to the new Hatake mansion. His mannerisms and behavior seemed so much like Naruto's despite the fact that he was older.

"Oh!" cried the man in surprise. "Mr. Hatake! A call came in just a few minutes ago. We have another prospect. A Dee Laytner and a Randy Maclean called wanting to look at the mansion..."

Kakashi shook his head. "Tell them I apologize, but it's currently off the market." He motioned towards the portrait. "Did you put that up there?"

Brown eyes glanced up at the portrait. He smiled and rubbed the scar across his nose. "Sorry about putting the portrait there," he said. "It's just that I found it in the attic and it looked so lonely there! Although I must admit the subject is rather risque considering when it was painted. I just figured in this century it only seemed like a nice thing to do, not hide them from the world or something like that. Was I wrong? I could take it back down if you don't want it up." Cautious brown eyes met Kakashi's.

Kakashi smiled and shook his head. "No, Iruka. I don't think you're wrong. It feels like it belongs there." He continued to stare at the man, wondering how he would react if he acted on his impulse to just molest the man right then and there. Maybe if he played his cards right...

"Uh, Mr. Hatake? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Iruka, looking uncomfortable.

"Oh, nothing. Forgive me."

Above them, black eyes seemed to glitter as if alive.

Finis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus I completed the story. On my other sites I had people tell me they were depressed but loved it... and asked for something happier... Um... I will try... eventually... when I get caught up in loading up all my current stories here.


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